Would a gay shop owner decline service to someone because they were straight? No. Because gay people aren't fucking assholes.
— God (@TheGoodGodAbove) April 8, 2015
Despite anti-discrimination laws in many states that require Christian bakery owners to bake cakes for same-sex weddings, 13 LGBT and gay-owned bakeries objected to one man’s request when he asked if they’d make a pro-traditional marriage cake that would read “gay marriage is wrong.” All refused to back the cake and one person even cursed at the Christian man for “hate speech” and said a cake supporting traditional marriage “went against their beliefs.”…. Blogger Theodore Shoebat, of Shoebat.com, wanted to see if the same level of tolerance that Christian business owners who belive in traditional marriage are required to abide by is also being exemplified at bakeries that advocate for same-sex marriage. Shoebat set off on a video experiment where he called 13 bakeries, which are all either known as gay-owned bakeries or bakeries that strongly support gay marriage, and told them that he was hosting a pro-traditional marriage celebration and that he needed a cake that says “gay marriage is wrong.”
One of the most surprising- and disturbing- aspects of the controversy over same-sex marriage is that some on he Far Right believe their “religious freedom” to discriminate goes both ways. Not only do they have the right to refuse to provide good or service to same-sex weddings, they also claim the right to force that discrimination in the other directions. It’s a case of almost literally having your cake and eating it, too- that the refusal to tolerate intolerance is itself the worst sort of intolerance.
There is nothing in the Bible that sanctions refusing to serve those participating in a same-sex wedding. Jesus never preached against homosexuality…but he DID preach about love, tolerance, and acceptance- things the American Taliban ignore because it doesn’t mesh with their fears and prejudices. It’s cafeteria Christianity at its finest.
Shoebat’s quest is as ridiculous as it is logically bankrupt. A couple requesting a cake for a same-sex wedding isn’t a political or moral statement. A “Christian” attempting to order a cake that says “gay marriage is wrong” most certainly IS an effort to make such a statement.
Shoebat’s flawed premise can be easily defeated in five words: PEOPLE have rights. IDEAS don’t.
Shoebat set off on a video experiment where he called 13 bakeries, which are all either known as gay-owned bakeries or bakeries that strongly support gay marriage, and told them that he was hosting a pro-traditional marriage celebration and that he needed a cake that says “gay marriage is wrong.”
This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. If someone attempted to order a cake that says “God is dead” from a “Christian” baker, odds are they’d decline to bake it- and they’d be within their rights to do so. Why is ordering a cake saying “gay marriage is wrong” any different? Truth is, it’s not. No one is required to provide goods or services under any and all imaginable circumstance. If someone came to me and offered to pay me to write an article praising Adolf Hitler for a white supremacist site, I’d absolutely have the right to decline- and I most certainly would. There’s no way I’d want my brand associated with any sort of hate speech. A request for services doesn’t necessarily create a legal burden to provide those services. Shoebat’s “video experiment” is inherently flawed in that it proceeds from the assumption that a baker is required to provide anything requested by a customer, regardless of the hatefulness or offensive nature of the message.
#NewRule: Conservatives have to admit they've lost the culture war when they're reduced to demanding the right to not serve gay wedding cake
— The Real Timers (@RealTimers) April 11, 2015
A baker is not a protected minority class. While business people in many states have wide leeway to refuse to provide goods or services, they cannot discriminate against individuals because of their sexuality and claim the protection of “religious belief.” Despite Shoebat’s twisted logic, there is no legal right to use religious belief as justification for discriminating against those whose lifestyle or sexuality one finds abhorrent and/or morally objectionable.
It’s highly unlikely that a gay baker would decline to bake a cake for a heterosexual wedding, because they’d be out of business in no time flat. As victims of discrimination, most of those in the LGBT community pursue a goal of openness, acceptance, and tolerance. It’s highly unlikely that anyone in the LGBT community would ask a baker to provide a cake saying “straight marriage is a sham.” It’s even less unlikely that they’d issue death threats in the event a baker refused such a request.
Shoebat’s “video experiment” is patently ridiculous, but it does serve to illustrate a truth: If your religious beliefs allow you to discriminate against someone because of whom and how they love, you have no religion. You’re a hypocrite and a sociopath. Your “Christianity” is a farce, poorly-constructed camouflage intended to mask the hatred and bigotry behind your mask of piety and hyper-religiosity.
Cafeteria Christianity doesn’t provide a legal basis for having your cake and eating it, too…though it does provide Theodore Shoebat with the means and justification to thoroughly embarrass himself.
