Saturday, March 28, 2015

Indiana restaurant begins barring gays thanks to new 'religious freedom' law

Whether the following is a hoax or not, it just made the brush fire started by Indiana's new "religious freedom" law explode into a veritable firestorm. To say the religious right and other supporters of "religious freedom" laws have lost the narrative would be an extreme understatement:

An Indiana business owner went on a local radio station and said that he had discriminated against gay or lesbian couples even before Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed a law on Thursday protecting business owners who decide to discriminate for “religious liberty” reasons. He then defended the practice and suggested he would do it again.

The business owner, who would not give his name or the name of his business, said he had told some LGBT “people” that equipment was broken in his restaurant and he couldn’t serve them even though it wasn’t and other people were already eating at the tables. “So, yes, I have discriminated,” he told RadioNOW 100.9 hosts. The hosts were surprised the owner said he was okay with discriminating.
“Well, I feel okay with it because it’s my place of business, I pay the rent, I’ve built it with all my money and my doing. It’s my place; I can do whatever I want with it, “he said. “They can have their lifestyle and do their own thing in their own place or with people that want to be with them.”

You can hear the audio here

As Indiana deals with an ugly backlash from businesses and celebrities such as Broadway's Audra McDonald, this audio only makes things worse. The old adage of "being careful what you wish for" definitely comes to mind here.

4 comments:

Fr. Jack said...

If this is true, a way round it is for inclusive businesses to post signs that due to their deeply held convictions they serve everyone. If this catches on then some exclusive businesses should begin to suffer economically. The power of the pink dollar should not be underestimated. If businesses don't show signs, then customers should make a point of asking as soon as they enter the shop or cafe or bakery etc.

I am not gay, but I and a great many like me would choose very carefully where to spend our money out of solidarity and I would do this because my version of Christianity is way out of step with this law.

Erica Cook said...

Not a hoax.

Tad said...

Funny how serving people is against that persons "morals" but they are okay lying. Such morality being a lying liar.

And not only is that person a liar, they are also a coward. If you're so okay discriminating against people, then be honest about what you've done and tell the name of your business.


Red Right Hand said...

They must have taken the audio down. Was anyone smart enough to get a copy of the audio???