Anonymous wrote:Sure they do. Otherwise they would they would not be essentially crucifying Christians for exercising their religious rights. Again, the Oregon bakery did not turn down the business of the gay couple. They shopped there previously and were never turned down. They were only turned down when asked for a specialty item for their wedding. The gay bakery that turned down the Christian baker wanting an anti-gay cake did the exact same thing. You just feel that their message was more hateful. You know DAMN well that if a gay baker in Oregon turned down a cake for a patron that said "Gay Marriage Is Wrong", the lefties like you would be all over it as a hateful message. And the courts would likely agree with you. That's the double-standard today. The court in Oregon, in my opinion was wrong in their decision.
Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'll ask again, because no one has answered my question. Why are the gay individual's rights more protected by law than the Christian's? Especially considering the first amendment.
Your question is based on a false premise. Nobody here believes that a gay individual's rights are more protected by law than a Christian's. If anything, Christians have more legal protection because discrimination based on religion is more widely prohibited than discrimination based on sexual orientation. In a state like Oregon, Christians and gays have a right to expect the same service from companies. They have equal protection, so neither's rights are more protected.
Sure they do. Otherwise they would they would not be essentially crucifying Christians for exercising their religious rights. Again, the Oregon bakery did not turn down the business of the gay couple. They shopped there previously and were never turned down. They were only turned down when asked for a specialty item for their wedding. The gay bakery that turned down the Christian baker wanting an anti-gay cake did the exact same thing. You just feel that their message was more hateful. You know DAMN well that if a gay baker in Oregon turned down a cake for a patron that said "Gay Marriage Is Wrong", the lefties like you would be all over it as a hateful message. And the courts would likely agree with you. That's the double-standard today. The court in Oregon, in my opinion was wrong in their decision.
Know why leftists are bullies? Fact is not on their side, so they have to resort to nasty tactics. Shame it works on so many people.
jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'll ask again, because no one has answered my question. Why are the gay individual's rights more protected by law than the Christian's? Especially considering the first amendment.
Your question is based on a false premise. Nobody here believes that a gay individual's rights are more protected by law than a Christian's. If anything, Christians have more legal protection because discrimination based on religion is more widely prohibited than discrimination based on sexual orientation. In a state like Oregon, Christians and gays have a right to expect the same service from companies. They have equal protection, so neither's rights are more protected.
Anonymous wrote:The full text is available at http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/27/text-indianas-religious-freedom-law/70539772/ and the language is a little painful to parse, but basically, what it does is create a defense against any lawsuit or prosecution that you did/didn't do whatever you're being accused of because of your religious beliefs.
In the face of anyone who raised such a defense, the government would have to show that forcing them to do/not do whatever is claimed to be a violation of their religious beliefs is "(a) in the furtherance of a compelling government interest and (b) the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling government interest."
So, if you consider yourself a good Christian restaurant that is opposed to the evils the "homosexual lifestyle," (say, Cracker Barrel), you could refuse to serve a male couple that came in holding hands and being affectionate on the grounds that having such behavior in your restaurant violated your religious beliefs, even though you would permit a heterosexual couple to engage in the same behavior.
If you were sued/prosecuted for discrimination based on such an exclusion, the plaintiff/government would have to prove that forcing you to serve that homosexual couple was both in the furtherance of a compelling government interest and the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling government interest.
The compelling interest standard is the highest possible standard that the government can be held to, and it's frequently difficult to achieve.
Anonymous wrote:I'll ask again, because no one has answered my question. Why are the gay individual's rights more protected by law than the Christian's? Especially considering the first amendment.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I haven't followed this closely and I'll be honest -- I'm not pro-gay, which is something I have to keep on the DL living on the east coast. If I own my own bakery or dress shop and don't want to bake a cake for a gay wedding or sell a dress for a lesbian wedding, how can I be forced to do so regardless of what the law says? I mean if the couple comes together and/or announces "we're a gay couple," can't you conveniently say -- oh sorry, we already have 11 other cake orders for that same Saturday and to be honest we don't have the staff to handle another; let me refer you to another nice bakery in town!?
Why does it matter what the law does or doesn't say -- it's easy to do what you want when you have your own business. (I agree that it's not possible if you're an employee -- if you're General Manager at the local Hilton and a gay couple comes to book a hall, you can't really turn them away without fearing losing your job if they suspect the reason and make allegations.)
How could you be forced to help a hindu couple or a black couple?
That's my point. A small business owner could see a Muslim couple and think -- nah don't want to be catering their wedding -- and make an excuse and turn them down. How could a law prevent that?
You are right. Laws can make things illegal, but they can't always change behavior. Redlining is illegal. But, companies fairly regularly are caught doing it. Mortgage companies don't announce a policy of not lending to black people, but eventually a pattern of not lending to black people shows up. However, if nobody was paying attention, those companies would get away with it. The bakers and florists that have been sued didn't simply not want to do business with gay people. They wanted to make a point of not doing business with gay people. You can call that stupid or principled depending on your perspective.
Huge oversimplification. The bakers and florists did do business with gay people, and had in the past. It was about a specific type of business transaction, i.e. participating in the weddings. That was a line they did not want to cross.
Should a gay bakery be forced to make an anti-gay cake for a Christian celebration? I personally don't think so.
Why are Christian's first amendment rights being trampled on in favor of the gay individuals? Why is the latter more 'important' than the former?
A cake -- yes. They're in the business of providing cakes, so they should provide cakes without regard to factors about a customer such as religion or sexual orientation or plans for the product.
An "anti-gay" cake (what is that? presumably one that has slurs written on it somehow?) -- certainly not, if the bakery does not typically make such things. Especially when doing so could cause the bakery problems due to whatever the customer wants being considered discrimination or hate speech.
Give every customer no more or less than you would make available to every other customer.
Anonymous wrote:WTF is a gay bakery? LOL
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I haven't followed this closely and I'll be honest -- I'm not pro-gay, which is something I have to keep on the DL living on the east coast. If I own my own bakery or dress shop and don't want to bake a cake for a gay wedding or sell a dress for a lesbian wedding, how can I be forced to do so regardless of what the law says? I mean if the couple comes together and/or announces "we're a gay couple," can't you conveniently say -- oh sorry, we already have 11 other cake orders for that same Saturday and to be honest we don't have the staff to handle another; let me refer you to another nice bakery in town!?
Why does it matter what the law does or doesn't say -- it's easy to do what you want when you have your own business. (I agree that it's not possible if you're an employee -- if you're General Manager at the local Hilton and a gay couple comes to book a hall, you can't really turn them away without fearing losing your job if they suspect the reason and make allegations.)
How could you be forced to help a hindu couple or a black couple?
That's my point. A small business owner could see a Muslim couple and think -- nah don't want to be catering their wedding -- and make an excuse and turn them down. How could a law prevent that?
You are right. Laws can make things illegal, but they can't always change behavior. Redlining is illegal. But, companies fairly regularly are caught doing it. Mortgage companies don't announce a policy of not lending to black people, but eventually a pattern of not lending to black people shows up. However, if nobody was paying attention, those companies would get away with it. The bakers and florists that have been sued didn't simply not want to do business with gay people. They wanted to make a point of not doing business with gay people. You can call that stupid or principled depending on your perspective.
Huge oversimplification. The bakers and florists did do business with gay people, and had in the past. It was about a specific type of business transaction, i.e. participating in the weddings. That was a line they did not want to cross.
Should a gay bakery be forced to make an anti-gay cake for a Christian celebration? I personally don't think so.
Why are Christian's first amendment rights being trampled on in favor of the gay individuals? Why is the latter more 'important' than the former?
A cake -- yes. They're in the business of providing cakes, so they should provide cakes without regard to factors about a customer such as religion or sexual orientation or plans for the product.
An "anti-gay" cake (what is that? presumably one that has slurs written on it somehow?) -- certainly not, if the bakery does not typically make such things. Especially when doing so could cause the bakery problems due to whatever the customer wants being considered discrimination or hate speech.
Give every customer no more or less than you would make available to every other customer.
What is an anti-gay cake? Does the icing clash?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Should a gay bakery be forced to make an anti-gay cake for a Christian celebration? I personally don't think so. Why are Christian's first amendment rights being trampled on in favor of the gay individuals? Why is the latter more 'important' than the former?
A cake -- yes. They're in the business of providing cakes, so they should provide cakes without regard to factors about a customer such as religion or sexual orientation or plans for the product.
An "anti-gay" cake (what is that? presumably one that has slurs written on it somehow?) -- certainly not, if the bakery does not typically make such things. Especially when doing so could cause the bakery problems due to whatever the customer wants being considered discrimination or hate speech.
Give every customer no more or less than you would make available to every other customer.
Anonymous wrote:There should not need to be a law, because private businesses should be able to serve and hire who they want to. We need to remove the governmental agencies, paid for by our tax dollars, that enforce these laws.
As for the Indiana law, the law was popularly passed by the governor and legislature. The opposition, led by leftist elites from media and business, has as its ultimate aim the persecutions of Christians and Jews, removal of all religion from public life, and destruction of churches in America.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I haven't followed this closely and I'll be honest -- I'm not pro-gay, which is something I have to keep on the DL living on the east coast. If I own my own bakery or dress shop and don't want to bake a cake for a gay wedding or sell a dress for a lesbian wedding, how can I be forced to do so regardless of what the law says? I mean if the couple comes together and/or announces "we're a gay couple," can't you conveniently say -- oh sorry, we already have 11 other cake orders for that same Saturday and to be honest we don't have the staff to handle another; let me refer you to another nice bakery in town!?
Why does it matter what the law does or doesn't say -- it's easy to do what you want when you have your own business. (I agree that it's not possible if you're an employee -- if you're General Manager at the local Hilton and a gay couple comes to book a hall, you can't really turn them away without fearing losing your job if they suspect the reason and make allegations.)
How could you be forced to help a hindu couple or a black couple?
That's my point. A small business owner could see a Muslim couple and think -- nah don't want to be catering their wedding -- and make an excuse and turn them down. How could a law prevent that?
You are right. Laws can make things illegal, but they can't always change behavior. Redlining is illegal. But, companies fairly regularly are caught doing it. Mortgage companies don't announce a policy of not lending to black people, but eventually a pattern of not lending to black people shows up. However, if nobody was paying attention, those companies would get away with it. The bakers and florists that have been sued didn't simply not want to do business with gay people. They wanted to make a point of not doing business with gay people. You can call that stupid or principled depending on your perspective.
Huge oversimplification. The bakers and florists did do business with gay people, and had in the past. It was about a specific type of business transaction, i.e. participating in the weddings. That was a line they did not want to cross.
Should a gay bakery be forced to make an anti-gay cake for a Christian celebration? I personally don't think so.
Why are Christian's first amendment rights being trampled on in favor of the gay individuals? Why is the latter more 'important' than the former?
A cake -- yes. They're in the business of providing cakes, so they should provide cakes without regard to factors about a customer such as religion or sexual orientation or plans for the product.
An "anti-gay" cake (what is that? presumably one that has slurs written on it somehow?) -- certainly not, if the bakery does not typically make such things. Especially when doing so could cause the bakery problems due to whatever the customer wants being considered discrimination or hate speech.
Give every customer no more or less than you would make available to every other customer.
Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I haven't followed this closely and I'll be honest -- I'm not pro-gay, which is something I have to keep on the DL living on the east coast. If I own my own bakery or dress shop and don't want to bake a cake for a gay wedding or sell a dress for a lesbian wedding, how can I be forced to do so regardless of what the law says? I mean if the couple comes together and/or announces "we're a gay couple," can't you conveniently say -- oh sorry, we already have 11 other cake orders for that same Saturday and to be honest we don't have the staff to handle another; let me refer you to another nice bakery in town!?
Why does it matter what the law does or doesn't say -- it's easy to do what you want when you have your own business. (I agree that it's not possible if you're an employee -- if you're General Manager at the local Hilton and a gay couple comes to book a hall, you can't really turn them away without fearing losing your job if they suspect the reason and make allegations.)
How could you be forced to help a hindu couple or a black couple?
That's my point. A small business owner could see a Muslim couple and think -- nah don't want to be catering their wedding -- and make an excuse and turn them down. How could a law prevent that?
You are right. Laws can make things illegal, but they can't always change behavior. Redlining is illegal. But, companies fairly regularly are caught doing it. Mortgage companies don't announce a policy of not lending to black people, but eventually a pattern of not lending to black people shows up. However, if nobody was paying attention, those companies would get away with it. The bakers and florists that have been sued didn't simply not want to do business with gay people. They wanted to make a point of not doing business with gay people. You can call that stupid or principled depending on your perspective.
Huge oversimplification. The bakers and florists did do business with gay people, and had in the past. It was about a specific type of business transaction, i.e. participating in the weddings. That was a line they did not want to cross.
Should a gay bakery be forced to make an anti-gay cake for a Christian celebration? I personally don't think so.
Why are Christian's first amendment rights being trampled on in favor of the gay individuals? Why is the latter more 'important' than the former?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What makes denying a gay couple a cake a legitimate religious issue?
Where exactly in the Bible does it say thou shalt turn away people whom you do not agree with?
More specifically, where did Jesus teach anything even remotely like this?
I can't seem to find it anywhere. Certainly not in the Gospels which are the first hand testimony of Christ's teachings. Anyone? Anyone? Citation, please?
If you can't come up with one then it's not really a bonafide religious issue. So please stop trying to wrap your homophobic bigotry up in religion thinking it can act as a shield. If even Jesus isn't backing you up on this then you are full of crap.
The bible states that marriage is between a man and a woman. A baker, who bakes a wedding cake for a gay couple means that baker is participating in the wedding. This is VERY different than a gay couple simply coming in to buy cookies, or any other baked goods already on the shelf - including a cake. Forcing someone to participate in something that is against their religious beliefs is what this law is about. It does not give shop owners permission to shout 'you're gay, get out".
Should a Halal shop owner be forced to participate in a Jewish wedding? I don't think so.
"Participating in the wedding?" Oh, please. By that calculus, the chinese factory that made the lace for the veil is also "participating in the wedding"
But you still didn't answer the question. Where exactly in the Bible does it say the baker cannot do business with them? And, since we are talking about Christians here, where, specifically, in the Gospels does it say that?
If the veil is special-ordered or custom made, you are talking about shop owner participation. Off the shelf? Nope
Huh. My Bible doesn't seem to have that clause. Did yours come with some kind of special Appendix of random new rules for what does and doesn't constitute "participation?"
Your bible has the 'marriage is between a man and a woman' line, and talks extensively of marriage.
You're aware that in your attempt to protect the rights of your chosen group, you are trampling on the rights of another group, right? Is that OK? Why is your chosen group more important and/or more worthy that another?
You mean the "right" to be a baker? Or a florist?
Should a Halal food establishment be required to cater a Jewish wedding? Can the Jew sue the Muslims if they refuse?
Yes, and yes.
PP -- hit post too soon, sorry. If the Jewish couple wants the catering services the Halal establishment provides, no, the Halal establishment should not be permitted to refuse service to the Jewish couple just because they are Jews. If they do, the Jewish couple should be permitted to sue.
Why are the Jew's rights more important that the Muslim's rights?