Monday, November 2, 2015

LGBT business owners get it right on religious freedom

More and more frequently, it seems, business owners with convictions – religious or otherwise – are being discriminated against by some states. But finally, homosexual owners of some businesses are coming to the defense of a Christian business owner who’s being forced to violate his religious beliefs.

Blaine Adamson, owner of a Lexington, KY, print shop called Hands on Originals, refused to print T-shirts for Lexington's 2012 gay pride festival. As a result of his refusal, he was found guilty of discrimination by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission. Additionally, the print shop was ordered to serve future requests from LGBT activists.

The legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom stepped in to defend Adamson’s personal and religious beliefs and filed an appeal.

As reported in The Christian Post , “Fayette Circuit Court Judge James D. Ishmael Jr. reversed the Human Rights Commission's decision in April and stated the commission went above its statutory authority."

Unfortunately, this was not the final legal word since liberals never give up or give in. The commission, which ordered Adamson to print shirts and attend government-mandated ‘diversity training,’ has now appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.”

But in a turn of events, an unlikely group of printers has come to Adamson’s defense. LGBT-owned businesses, including BMP T-Shirts, expressed support for Adamson.

"No one should be forced to do something against what they believe in,’ said Diane DiGeloromo, one owner of BMP T-shirts, a lesbian-owned business. "‘If we were approached by an organization such as the Westboro Baptist Church, I highly doubt we would be doing business with them, and we would be very angry if we were forced to print anti-gay T-shirts,’ DiGeloromo said. ‘This isn't a gay or straight issue. This is a human issue.’

Her business partner, Kathy Trautvertter, added, “You put your blood and your sweat and your tears into your business and it's very personal. When I put myself in Mr. Adamson's shoes, I could see it from his side."

This point has been made many times, but bears repeating: No one – religious or not – should be forced to do business with anyone, especially someone whose message is contrary to one’s own.

Should a Jewish printer be forced to print signs for a neo-Nazi parade?

Should a print shop owned by a socialist be forced to print signs that say “Socialism is Slavery”?

Should a print shop owned by pro-abortionists and Planned Parenthood supporters be forced to print brochures denouncing abortion and Planned Parenthood?

Should a black-owned print shop be forced to print signs for a KKK parade? After all, as vile as the KKK is, citizens have the right to join that group, so wouldn’t a KKK member’s “civil rights” be violated if a black business owner refused to do business with him? Well, yes, according to the same logic put forth by homosexual activists. By their logic, the black man should be forced to provide services.

Commenting on the issue, Douglas Laycock, professor of law at the University of Virginia, stated, "The American solution to this conflict is to protect the freedom of both sides — not punish the side that dissents."

Amen.

27 comments:

  1. I said from the beginning the LGBT community has more important things to do with their time. I can't take this cake stuff seriously. There are plenty of bakers to pick from and some may be gay.

    We need sexual orientation and gender identities added to the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, providing protection in matters of housing, employment and public accommodations within Michigan. We have no protection in our state. Only 33 states offer the kind of protections that are found in the Elliott-Larsen Act. We need the same protections enacted within the Federal Government for all LGBT Americans. You must see that the protections I listed for LGBT Americans go hand and hand with any religious freedom laws that are passed. Gov. Rick Snyder has said this all along and so has the business community. Michigan's legislators are seeking "ballance". Julie, can you agree that both sides may need protection and are in need of ballance?

    Why anyone would turn down work for religous reasons is beyond me, I just don't get the connection between faith and work. The likehood of the Westboro Baptist Church going to a LGBT printer is next to nun. On the other hand who would want a cake backed with resentment, rather then love.
    I would take my business elsewhere.

    Mark Cichewicz

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    1. You hit the nail on the head when you wrote: “Why anyone would turn down work for religous (sic) reasons is beyond me”. It’s “beyond you” because you don’t recognize sin. However, many Christian bakers don’t want to participate in the celebration of that sin which is why they try to respectfully decline those types of cake-baking requests. For them, it’s much more important to stay true to their God-given convictions than to make an easy buck.

      You might indeed be one who “would take my business elsewhere” but, unfortunately, too many in the LGBT community would instead choose to sue those bakers or even shut down their businesses. Douglas Laycock has the right idea but it’ll be hard to convince the LGBT community to buy into the thought of allowing bakers, florists, and others to decline service.

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  2. I don't 'care about the cake, I don't care about what you consider sin. You can have your religous freedom.
    I want my rights the same as everyone else protected in The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. I'm a bit (sick) of you.

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    1. That’s the problem - you don’t care about what qualifies as “sin”, and you don’t want anyone to have the freedom to refrain from what they recognize as “sin”. I agree that there should be no discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the LGBT community wants much more than that. It wants everyone to buy into the homosexual lifestyle and the homosexual agenda at the expense of all other rights (including religious freedom rights).

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    2. I am not the problem...u are the problem as long as I publisize my life as being blessed and happy on this blog. If I don't review this space I live a happy life. My life will never meet your expectations. You don't get it. You go on and on for what? I am sick of saying the same thing over and over. God will open your eyes when your dead.

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    3. Mark, you’re just not getting it. It’s not about YOUR life meeting MY expectations - it has to do with the question of whether you’re willing to submit your life to Christ. Do you understand what that means? It starts with an understanding that we are all sinners in a fallen world, and, as a result, our fallen minds are tainted by sins which we don’t always recognize (or want to recognize).

      You may have had homosexual desires all of your life but that CANNOT somehow automatically be used as an excuse to live out that lifestyle. EVERY human being has unique sinful desires. The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the Christian will want to know (not always perfectly or consistently) what the Bible has to say about their desires, while the non-Christian will ignore, re-define, marginalize, etc. what the Bible has to say about their desires.

      God has already told us that men who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God (we’ve covered many of the verses). Don’t wait until you leave this earth to discover that reality.

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  3. Refrain all you want from what you consider sin. Being who I was created to be is not sin. You opinion is of no concern to me. It will not change me. And no one else gives a rip about this. No one!

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    1. The issue is NOT about what I consider to be sin or what anyone else considers to be sin – it’s exclusively about what GOD has defined to be sin. That would be an extremely important matter for a genuine Christian. In fact, brokenness over one’s sin is one of the marks of a true believer. On the other hand, if someone says “I don’t care what God says – I’m going to live my life according to whatever feelings and desires I have”, then that’s evidence of someone who has not come to Christ.

      Think about it – if we can justify our actions according to whatever feelings we have, or have had throughout our lifetime, then that provides a license to embrace any type of sin. Right? An adult who might be sexually attracted to children could not be told that those types of desires are wrong. A man who is sexually attracted to women other than his wife could not be told that pursuing an affair is wrong.

      Please consider the consistency of your viewpoint. You may have indeed been born with homosexual desires, but those desires don’t necessarily have to define who you are or how you live. The “being who I was created to be is not sin” attitude is potentially very dangerous.

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    2. Anonymous: I "give a rip" about your sin or your "inborn" desire for the same sex when you try to force me to abandon my deeply held God-based beliefs by making me partake in your lifestyle in any way, shape or form. When my daughter and her fiance stay with us, they get separate rooms. Do they have the "right" to sleep in the same room? Yes, by legal standards in general, of course. But I have the right not to be a part of what I believe is sin as defined by God Himself. My daughter and her fiance respect my decisions but in your world Anonymous, you think I should put my beliefs on the back burner to cater to yours. You would think I should be forced to let my daughter and future son in law share a room because I am "imposing" my values on them and acting as an obstacle to their "rights." (and please don't go into the 'private house vs. public business example - I think you get my point). While I respect your right to do what you want in your life as long as you are not asking others to compromise their lives in any way, you seem to have no respect for people like me who just want to live according to God's teachings. Sleep with whomever you want (though out of love for you, I don't recommend it) But please don't ask me to condone it - and you must come to grips with the fact that some people don't condone it. It's a matter of maturity. While we all must love each other in the way God asks us too, that love is expressed by trying to keep people out of harm's way, and that love certainly doesn't come in the form of trying to force others to pat you on the back for a life they've been taught is wrong. It would be nice if we could all agree on everything but we don't. And forcing someone to ignore their beliefs in favor of someone else's is simply not a well developed way of thinking on an issue.

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    3. My husband and I were in a 30 year committed relationship, unable to get married till the ban of discrimination was crushed. Were married now since March with no compromises for us or our vendors. The beliefs you speak of, Paul's beliefs have been crammed and have dammed every word I have writen in the paper.

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  4. I know plenty of single "straight" people - who were born that way and are definitely attracted to members of the opposite sex, but who also happen to be Christians who believe sex outside of sacramental (not Supreme Court) marriage to be a sin, so they abstain from their desires for the other sex. In other words, just because you're born a certain way, doesn't mean you have to give in to your desires. And just because you give in to your desires (which IS a choice) doesn’t mean you get to tell the rest of us we have to celebrate, support or partake in it in any way and then try to paint yourself as some poor victim of discrimination when we say we don’t want to.

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    1. Your comparing a straight person who is not married but always had the option to get married, to a gay person who never could get married but now can and saying the stright person can obstain for a while, but the gay person must obstain for ever be use you see it as a sin. Is this what your saying?????

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    2. Stay out of my life

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    3. So humans made the unconstitutional decree that men who like men can now get married. That does not change the Bible's teaching on the matter. And so just because humans now say you can marry a member of the same sex does not mean you now get to tell those who believe in God's definition of marriage that they have to provide services to you that go against their beliefs (because God says that to condone sin by partaking in it or turning a blind eye to it is a sin in itself.) You say you want us to stay out of your life, but do you say homosexuals forcing people to provide services that violate beliefs is not asking people to be in their life on some level against their will? You think your rights are more important than ours, and that's just not loving. And I am not the one who decided it's a sin, GOD does, and we have the right to follow God, which even HE doesn't force us to do, but you want to force us to adapt to your way. Trust me, we want to stay out of your life - I don't want any part of it. That's the whole point! If you compromised no vendors, great but what would you have done if one of the vendors politely declined to bake your cake or take your picture because they follow God, not you? Would you have been mature and gracious about it or thrown a fit demanding they bend to your will, not God's in the name of so-called "discrimination"? We want to stay out of your life, trust me. But please, stay out of ours, too, OK? I don't see anyone 'damning' you - I think you are projecting your own actions onto others. I'm sure you will have a comeback and I will give you the last word. This is a losing debate with you as I can tell from all the comments above, and I just don't have the time to go back and forth. I wish you all the best in your life.

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    4. 1. I personaly would not want anyone to think they were partaking in my wedding by doing their job and felling the way you do. Their are plenty of others to do the work. 2. When I write a column sharing my happiness, by ending a 30 year engagement ad marring my husband, something you will never understand, and that's ok, and someone like Paul judges me, condemns me, and blames that condemnation on God, I draw a line. I was never asking for a disertation on sin. Then he didn't stop there he also condemned the Episcopals and Presbyterians. 3. Not me, but so many children suffer at the hands of their parents who through their kids in the streets, or worse try to change them, because of coming out. 4. I said I don'care about the cake. I care about my civil rights. Have you ever lost your job or your home for being straight? LGBT in 33 states have NO civil rights. We do not have the rights how all take for granted. Last, Paul has taken every opportunity speak up for God by judging me. Say it once ok, but don't play that broken record over and over. That's exactly why I can't stand him and what the LGBT constantly complain about. Search Cichewicz in this paper and you will see I tell the truth. Paul harps.

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    5. Mark,
      Why can’t you objectively examine, and honestly interact with, the comments and the arguments that people put forth?

      1. I am NOT the one judging you. I’ve stated that many, many times! When you, or anyone else, start to talk about the “blessings” and the “happiness” of same-sex “marriage”, I simply respond by pointing out that God condemns homosexual activity. It doesn’t matter if that activity occurs in a 30-year “committed relationship”, or if it occurs among short-term multiple partners. GOD is the one who categorizes it as sin - NOT ME!

      2. In the same way, I am NOT the one condemning the Episcopalians or the Presbyterians. Again, GOD is the one who tells (and warns) all churches to remain faithful to the Scriptures and to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. So, when churches abandon that responsibility, allow sin to be redefined, and start conforming to the world’s system, I simply point out that they are violating God’s clear teachings and are inviting His judgment.

      3. I am not the one “harping” on you or playing the “broken record”. I’ve always been the one RESPONDING to your comments and/or letters. Go back and reread your own posts - YOU are the one who constantly attacks every Bible-believing Christian and/or conservative who won’t embrace the homosexual lifestyle and the homosexual agenda. Stop attacking and I’ll stop responding!

      4. Lastly, I have consistently stated that there should be NO discrimination based on sexual orientation. Gays, straights, males, females, blacks, whites, etc. should all have equal employment rights. But, I’ve also consistently stated that Christians should not be punished or silenced for speaking out against the sin of homosexuality. Allowing for equal employment is one thing, forcing someone to accept a lifestyle that violates biblical and common sense principles is quite another.

      Do you understand the points I’ve just made? Are you willing to INTELLIGENTLY discuss them and not just respond with your emotional “bigot” or “homophobe” labels?

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    6. IS YOUR NAME PHIL G.? OR DO YOU GO BY MORE THEN ONE NAME and then complement your self as you did below. I did NOT address my comment to you, I know where you stand and you know where I stand. Go bother someone else.

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    7. No, my name is not “Phil G.” but you mentioned my name several times (“Paul judges me, condemns me … blames that condemnation on God”; “Paul has taken every opportunity speak up for God”; “Paul harps”; etc.) which prompted me to respond.

      Are you willing to intelligently address my points?

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    8. You are pointless! Have a nice life.

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    9. WHY do you not want to intelligently discuss these issues????? That’s what ADULTS do.

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    10. You are a plague to me. You go back and read everything I have written in this paper. I will say it one more time. I was born gay, created by God as I am. I am happy and adjusted. Married leagaly to my husband, engaged for 30 years. That's not to say I'm not a. sinner. But being gay is not a sin and I know the words man has put in the book, their not right, and your not right to bring God into your verociousus hatred of me and the life He has made for me to live. There are other interpretations of the book you love to shair. Read them...then lets talk like adults.

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    11. Mark,
      I’ve read and understood every word that you wrote. There’s no need for me to “go back and read everything” that you’ve written. And, I wholeheartedly believe you when you say that you have had same-sex attraction for as long as you can remember. I’d ask you the same thing - can YOU go back and really make an effort to understand (not just halfheartedly reread) the very important points that I’ve consistently brought up? God is the one who sets the standard, for all of us, in terms of what is “right”, “good”, “normal”, etc. Same-sex attraction, just like any other sexual desire, needs to be examined in light of what God has told us concerning the matter. If you simply adopt the view that “I was born with these desires, therefore they must be good, right, normal, etc.”, then you’ve not only eliminated God from the discussion, but you’ve also provided an excuse and a license to allow anyone to practice any sin that they feel compelled to practice. Do you understand that point?

      Secondly, you admit that you’re a sinner, like the rest of us, but how do you know what’s sinful and what’s not sinful? Do you look to your own feelings to find out? You claim that “man has put” words into the Bible that are not “right” (I assume you’re referring to the words), but how do you know that? How do you determine which words are accurate and which are not? You’re just making broad brushed statements.

      Finally, I’m very familiar with the new biblical interpretations from the likes of Matthew Vines. You need to understand that people like Vines, who, to my knowledge, has no formal biblical training and no knowledge of the original languages, are trying make the case for the acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” because they themselves are gay. These new interpretations come from a desire to redefine what the Bible clearly teaches and NOT from any serious pursuit of truth. The issue is NOT whether you can find some man or author to support your position, it’s about whether that man or author properly and accurately handles the texts and the subject matter (or, is even equipped to do so).

      I’d be more than willing to discuss any of these new biblical interpretations. Which one would you like to start with?

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  5. Very well-stated, Donna and Phil, and thanks for adding your comments! I often feel like I’m the only one out here and the only one who cares enough to comment on these issues.

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    1. Hi Paul...Just wanted to let you now how much I value your thoughts here. I find your insights so incredible (by the way, do you have a blog by chance? I'd love to read it.) Thanks for all your input (and thank you, Donna and Phil G, too - nice you see you here!) Thanks again, Paul - all the best to you.

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    2. Thanks, Julie. I hope I didn’t come across as being critical of you. You already do a tremendous job of initiating the columns that people need to read. My comment was aimed at the hope of seeing more people who are concerned enough about our society, and the direction of this country, to speak up. Keep up the great part that you do!

      No, I don’t have a blog. I’m an engineer at my day job and probably wouldn’t be able to set aside the time needed to make it a quality blog (like yours). Thanks for planting the idea, though. God bless you!

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    3. Hi Paul...no I didn't take it that way. Just wanted to thank you! I would like to see more people speak up on the issues as well. I actually do have a non-stop, crazy day job too which keeps me from writing as often as i'd like and developing my posts the way I'd like when I do eek out the time to write something. I'd write every day if I could. Oh, were I to win the lottery.... :-) Thanks again for everything and have a great weekend!

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  6. I read that Post and got it fine and informative. lgbt,

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