Gays & Lesbians Don’t Deserve To Be Denied Service
Have you heard? Apparently, some wedding vendors (think photographers, cake makers, and the like) out there have refused to work with gay and lesbian couples who are looking to get married.
Now in case you haven’t heard it on the news, a court in my home state of Utah recently declared Utah’s Constitution’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. Naturally, this is getting appealed (or on its way to, at least) as I type this.
All I have to say to those guys is: Good luck getting a higher court to side with you! If the Supreme Court ruled the same thing about California’s own Prop. 8, then I don’t see Utah ‘winning’.” (Despite the fact that the majority of Utah’s population apparently voted to have that ban put in the Constitution and now officials are pissed that court disregarded these “wishes.” Newsflash: Courts have nothing to do with the population’s opinion–especially when it violates a civil right.)
But back to my story about businesses denying service to soon-to-be-wed married gay couples: One couple (justly) sued and the judge ordered the business (I think it was a cake shop) to serve them and pay a fine.
As we were driving one day, my mom and I were listening to a talk show host discuss this situation and say something along the lines of:
If homosexuals want us to respect them, shouldn’t they respect our religious beliefs too?
WHO AM I TO JUDGE?
Now our family’s pretty conservative–not the crazy, ultra radical kind of Conservative, but the kind that’s open to hearing all sides. (At least I think I’m a bit more open than my parents. Meghan McCain might as well be a role model for Conservative Millennials like me.) So while Conservatives may be reviled for “hating” the gays, the truth is that no reasonable Conservative does; they’re people, and we value all human life (even that which hasn’t been born, but that’s for another post).
(In all honesty, I don’t particularly enjoy seeing a gay couple making out, though. But in all fairness, I always take my eyes away when even a heterosexual couple makes out, too–especially if it’s on-screen. I just think they deserve some privacy!)
Anyways……… My mom seemed to agree with the talk show host’s question: Shouldn’t they respect us, too? For instance, she added, what if a wedding photographer, who’s rather conservative and not a fan of gay PDA, were tasked with shooting the newly married couple’s kiss? I see your point, I said. BUT weddings (gar or not) aren’t ALL about PDA.* So the photographer would be denying that couple something truly valuable on account of a primitive, discriminatory whim.
*And besides, aren’t all overt, “look at us, we’re kissing!” variations of PDA kinda gross, anyways?
Now unlike that talk show host or my mom, I wasn’t so easily convinced even though I’m a Catholic and our religion doesn’t allow gays or lesbians to marry in the Church. (That part I actually support, believe it or not. Why? I don’t know yet. I guess it has to do with a private institution’s belief, and I belong to that private institution. I won’t dispute my religion on this matter. Religious beliefs are religious beliefs. If you don’t “do religion,” though, well then that’s not my problem.)
(In case you care, there are several things my Church does/doesn’t do that I’d happily dispute. For instance, I believe women should be allowed to become priests[esses?] in my Church, because there’s no reason why not, and also because that’d be great.)
But like Pope Francis recently said,
“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” (Pope Francis | Via CNN’s Religion Blog)
You go, Time Magazine’s Person of The Year! If someone’s gay, and they’re good, and they live righteously, who is anybody (at least in a public arena or a business) to judge?
BACK TO… THE PAST?
When it comes to businesses, doesn’t denying services to a protected class entail discrimination? Remember when the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were 4/5 of a typical person and that interracial marriages were illegal? (As someone who could most likely marry outside her race, that’s the most shocking.)
Are we back to THAT?
Aren’t we in the 21st century?
Regardless of (or especially because of) what the Supreme Court has ruled in regards to gays and lesbians, they ARE people, and this blatant discrimination only perpetuates the fugly treatment they (and any other members of our protected classes) receive.
This isn’t the 50s anymore, and we should act like it.
WATCH THIS AND BAWL YOUR EYES OUT (like I did).
Adorable. Just plain adorable. This couple is adorable, their friends and family are adorable (kudos to those parents for modeling what ALL parents should be like), and the fact that it happened here, in SLC, while not “adorable,” is actually rather meaningful. Enjoy!
