Forget religion! This is a First Amendment right. Government cannot force anyone to associate with or perform service for anyone, for any reason whatsoever. If I want to opt out of someone else's celebration, I should be at liberty to do so. I don't care who or what they are.
You can have your gay wedding, but no one should be able to force me to participate for any reason, religious or not, even if I were the last pizza shop on earth. Someone would step up. But if you just want to make an example of me, then this isn't about discrimination; it's just bullying.
Let's suppose our government says we are compelled by law to participate in activities in which we do not wish to participate. And let's suppose that we are a caterer. And suppose that caterer is forced to provide food for your activity. Do you really want them making your food? Chew on that that for a moment.
What about racial discrimination practiced by a business? In those cases, there are many examples in our country's history where "Someone would step up" did not occur. Or should sexual-preference discrimination by a business not be as "protected" as racial discrimination?
ReplyDeleteRacial discrimination keeps coming up in this argument. But the Jim Crow laws actually mandated segregation. After those laws were rightfully abolished, then things could start to change. Would they change fast enough for everyone? Maybe not. Was it right for government to speed that up? Thats a subject for discussion, but I would argue that it flies in the face of equal justice under the law. Even in the deep south, I don't think businesses would refuse money from a black man, just because the business owner was a bigot.
DeleteThis is quite different than opting out of a particular activity because you feel it is immoral. I'm sorry if that makes gays and lesbians feel bad. But it hardly limits their access to just about anything they want, including cakes and flowers. Of the people who have refused service to gays and lesbians on moral grounds, and had their businesses and life savings destroyed by government, or by blow-back from self-righteous illiberal control freaks, who has, in the final analysis, been hurt the worst?