All of the “Religious Freedom” acts are using the wrong qualifier. They should be “Business Freedom” acts. Why is religion a part of it at all? What if I run a business and have a real dislike of people who wear pants with holes in them? Should I be required to serve them? Let’s take religion and homosexuality out of this discussion.
It should be: How much freedom of choice is a business person allowed to exercise while operating his or her business?
I can see where people would argue that all people must be served equally. I can also see where people would argue that the business operator should not be forced into doing business where they don’t want to. The discussion should be around this and what the limits should be in general.
agree completely! making it religion and lgbt allows the issue to be polarizing…instead of, you know, dealing with the real issue
The reason it’s because it’s about religion, not business. Some don’t like what’s going on with gay marriage and thus it’s a different angle at an old topic. The business context is a ruse.
No, gay marriage is a completely different topic. We should keep these things separate. I agree with Chris that “religion” and “homosexuality” are both being used, by both sides, to fight for something that goes beyond the topic of what a business owner must be compelled to do.
Well, obviously :-), I agree with you that religion shouldn’t be part of this. For me, it’s telling that it isn’t gay caterers, photographers, t-shirt makers, and other businesses who are being challenged (I would argue, deliberately) in court the way that Christian business owners have been. Similarly, you don’t see gay business people being fined, driven out of business, or sent to mandatory state-sanctioned sensitivity training in order to keep their business licenses.
If this is all really about what gay advocates are saying it’s about, then let’s take religion out it entirely and address it from the perspective of the constitutionally-protected rights and freedoms that we all have.
Hear, hear, Steve. I agree with you. You have clarified the issue.