Gay Ruling Removes Another Layer Of Freedom For Business Owners

I ask you, why can’t I choose not to serve a gay couple or someone of colour or any other type of person with whom I don’t choose to associate with?

OK, I realise that the U.S. Constitution protects against numerous types of discrimination by the Government and so it should, but why can’t I as an individual discriminate? What’s wrong with that?

Say, I don’t like green people. I don’t want them in my shop. It’s just a thing I have about green people. You know... the way they talk or walk. It’s my call and I don’t want them or their money, green or otherwise.

Now a whole lot of people are going to object... mostly green people. But there’ll be many other people who agree with me secretly or otherwise and they will shop at my store perhaps because I choose to exclude the greens.

Now if you’re in business and you see the green market as a valuable you can advertise "Green Friendly" and the greens will no doubt flock to your door and I say that’s your call, but I don’t want them crossing my threshold. In fact, preventing me from discriminating against the greens sort of makes all the "Green Friendly" advertisements I read a bit foolish.

So why can’t I discriminate?

I’ll tell you why.

Today, a County Court in the United Kingdom stripped away another layer of freedoms from business owners by deciding in favour of a gay couple who were excluded from a Christian B&B in Berkshire. The Court awarded each man £1,800 for the inconvenience of having to drive home after their confirmed booking was refused on the basis of their homosexuality. The inn-keeper didn’t want to allow them a double room.

This particular B&B has also turned away unmarried or seemingly heterosexual couples who just wanted a bed for sex, during the day, so it seems to me that they’re practicing even handed discrimination and I applaud them for it.

But over time, laws and rulings like this one have granted rights to one group while automatically suppressing the rights of others to; in this case, practice their religion as they see fit.

Of course Susanne and Mike Wilkinson, the owners of the B&B, could have simply fibbed and told the two men that they had made a mistake and overbooked the night. It happens all the time and would have made it possible for them to discriminate within the law. But that would have meant lying and neither Susanne nor her husband Mike are liars. They are Christians who just don’t want assist a couple of sinners against God.

Denying them their rights isn’t right, now is it?

It may well be that this particular gay couple knew all along that the B&B would refuse them and that they just wanted to "make a case" of it and if that’s true, then, they scored £3,600 and can answer for that sin as well when they meet their maker.

http://www.wirenews.co/op-ed/uk/5368/gay-ruling-removes-another-layer-of-freedom-for-business-owners