Is there a third option for the business owner being taken to court? Or for the person in your original, supposed dichotomous scenario? If so, then please share with us.
Probably so. Good advice.If you are working in the legal space to affect change, with a nonprofit group, or built a digital platform to address the issue the long-term benefits would exceed forum debates.
Probably so. Good advice.
What? Come on, dear Christian. They are not taken to court because of general refusal.That is not the option. It is the effect of the other. They are taken to court due to their refusal. It is the consequence of their decision.
That is not the option. It is the effect of the other. They are taken to court due to their refusal. It is the consequence of their decision.
Yes, there can be legal consequences for a person who chooses to discriminate against a gay couple or perhaps against anyone else the person apparently feels shouldn't have civil rights and equality.
Christians feel that their civil rights under the first amendment should be respected. Why is that a problem? I don't see any Christians here complaining about having the freedom to choose.
It's a problem because of anti-discrimination laws. It's a problem because Christians aren't above the law. Christians shouldn't be allowed to violate anti-discrimination laws while other American citizens are legally forced to obey these laws. It's a problem because LGBT American citizens shouldn't have to deal with religious based prejudice and discrimination just as African-American citizens (and other minority American citizens) shouldn't have to deal with racially based bigotry and discrimination.
If a Christian is allowed to discriminate against a same-sex couple, then that could open the door to more of this: Mississippi wedding venue refuses to rent to engaged interracial couple because the owners say 'it's against our Christian beliefs to do mixed race and gay weddings' and I don't want to the United States of America begin to revert back to the era before the Civil Rights Movement.
If a Christian feels that he or she can't fully serve homosexuals in their public business because they feel it would violate their conscience (while they willingly serve many other sinners), then they need to find another place of employment and humbly remove themselves from the public eye.
Gay American citizens, as well as other LGBT American citizens, should have the same civil rights and equality as straight American citizens. Gay and other LGBT American citizens should not be denied civil rights and encounter religious based discrimination because some Christian or other person of faith doesn't agree with the sexual lifestyle of that gay person or other LGBT person.
I don't personally agree with the lifestyle of a person who has been divorced and remarried multiple times, but I wouldn't refuse to serve that person or their current spouse if I owned a public business.
I don't personally agree with the lifestyle of a couple who is living together in daily sin before they are married, but I wouldn't refuse to serve that couple if I owned a public business.
I don't personally agree with the lifestyle of someone that I know to be an habitually liar (lying is also an abomination to God), but I wouldn't refuse to serve that person if I owned a public business.
I don't personally agree with the lifestyle of a person who is obese and grossly overweight (gluttony is a sin), but I wouldn't refuse to serve that person if I owned a public business.
As a Christian, I wouldn't single out certain sinners and refuse them service while I willingly served every other kind of sinner under the sun with no moral confliction whatsoever if I owned a public business.
I guess it all depends on what you can do in good conscience. However, there are some who have beliefs that may not line up with changing laws, and they shouldn't either be denied the ability to make a living, or be forced to violate their conscience.
Like I said...
If a Christian feels that he or she can't fully serve homosexuals in their public business because they feel it would violate their conscience (while they willingly serve many other sinners), then they need to find another place of employment and humbly remove themselves from the public eye.
If that's what they "need" to do, then their religious freedom is certainly not being respected.
If that's what they "need" to do, then their religious freedom is certainly not being respected. Thankfully, as the OP has shown, there may still be hope that people will be allowed to run their business their own way.
Yes, there can be legal consequences for a Christian who chooses to discriminate against a gay couple or perhaps against anyone else the Christian apparently feels shouldn't have civil rights and equality.
If that's what they "need" to do, then their religious freedom is certainly not being respected. Thankfully, as the OP has shown, there may still be hope that people will be allowed to run their business their own way.
You have introduced straw-man statements.If a same-sex couple is being discriminated against by a Christian because that Christian feels it would violate their conscience to serve the couple (despite the fact they apparently have no moral conflict while serving other sinners), then the civil rights of that couple aren't being respected, and the law is being discarded. There are anti-discrimination laws for a reason and Christians aren't above the law.
As if truth is a matter of opinion?
First of all, there is no consideration for the category of "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in the US constitution.
Secondly, you really should not so misrepresent genuine, God-fearing Christians. The Christian business owners are not discriminating against persons, rather, they are discriminating against certain godless beliefs and practices, which is something every Christian should support. Everyone discriminates between right and wrong everyday, as a duty and necessity.
By humiliating and insulting other people who deserve to be treated with the same respect that you apparently reserve for only certain people in spite of the fact that you are in a business to serve all people.
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