no more than the letter of the (religious) law

As church groups plan legal challenges to gay rights legislation amidst howls of how unfair those proposals are, it's useful to remind ourselves of the content of the Equality Act 2006 which includes the following:

It is unlawful for a person ("A") concerned with the provision to the public or a section of the public of goods, facilities or services to discriminate against a person ("B") who seeks to obtain or use those goods, facilities or services..

That's quoted from part 2 of the act, referring to religious discrimination and should not be confused with this section, from part 3:

The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about discrimination or harassment on grounds of sexual orientation [...] The regulations may, in particular make provision of a kind similar to Part 2 of this Act.

The law authorises nothing more than the possibility of the kinds of protection already given to those with religious beliefs.

Unlike religious discrimination, described and prohibited in some detail, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is a kind of optional extra which the Secretary of State may choose to pursue.

If it's morally, legally and logistically possible to extend protections to the religious, why is it suddenly immoral, illegal and intractable when it comes to gay people?