Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Lesbian Couple Files Discrimination Charges Against Bakery

A lesbian couple filed discrimination charges against a bakery in Gresham Oregon for refusing to provide a wedding cake for their marriage.

The couple cited their Christian beliefs as a reason for refusing.

The filing claims the bakery violated the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, which protects the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations. The law exempts religious and religiously affiliated organizations but not individual business owners.

I'd like to say that if it were me I'd just shrug and take my business elsewhere but I understand how something like this can rankle someone enough that they can't let it lie.

So is this an issue of Religious Freedom as some folks claim?

I think that once you make an exception for one type of belief, how can you defend not making it for other types of beliefs? You'd have to come up with all sorts of rationalizations as to why those other cases, which you don't make an exception for, are different.

Still, it's hard to justify saying they have to do something which their Iron Age fairy tale says is wrong.

Personally, I say let them discriminate if, and only if, they post a big sign, where everyone can see it, that they don't serve gays. This shouldn't be a problem if they really believe what they're doing is right.

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