These two terms seem to be getting a lot of use these days, especially in the battle for "gay rights" and "gay marriage". If you believe that marriage is between a man and a women, just as it's always been, you might have already found yourself being called one of these terms by someone who is apparently not a bigot and is completely tolerant of your views, right? After all, what sense would it make for someone to call you a bigot or intolerant if that person was every bit as bigoted and intolerant as you? (Assuming that you actually are either of these things.)
For my own understanding, I looked-up these two terms on Dictionary.com:
big⋅ot⋅ry [big-uh-tree] –noun, plural -ries. 1. stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. 2. the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.
in⋅tol⋅er⋅ance [in-tol-er-uhns] –noun 1. lack of toleration; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc. 2. incapacity or indisposition to bear or endure: intolerance to heat. 3. abnormal sensitivity or allergy to a food, drug, etc. 4. an intolerant act.
Let's say that I chose to call another person "intolerant" or a "bigot". It's logical to conclude that my justification for doing so is that while I am tolerant of and respect the other person's opinion or beliefs, the other person is not tolerant of or does not respect mine. My goal of drawing attention to the other person's unacceptable behavior only holds water if I am tolerant and not bigot, otherwise, I'm merely stating that the other person is just as guilty as I am.
For those who are calling people who support traditional marriage "bigots" and "intolerant", I would like to introduce a new word to their vocabulary:
hyp⋅o⋅crite [hip-uh-krit] –noun 1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. 2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.