I'm not going to read anything into anything. I get people make gay jokes. I was in a poker game where we had our first gay person and all these liberals started making non-stop gay jokes. No, I didn't think any of them were gay.

However, when you are raised where being gay is the lowest (like you describe), your brain will develop a coping mechanism (or you come out of the closet) which is some self-loathing shit. Then it exhibits itself in the homophobia. I have no doubt this is true.