Rarely do I chime in on political subjects, because these days the only way to be politically correct is to have no opinion at all. But just the other day I saw a news article about a wedding cake business in Colorado that refused to make a cake for a gay couple in 2012. A year later an administrative judge ruled that the baker's denial of service violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
However the case is now in an appeals court, where ultimately a final decision will have to be made on whether businesses have the right to refuse service on any grounds.
It got me thinking, though, why is this still a problem? In essence, why are there still people that will choose to actively discriminate against homosexuals? Even worse at their own financial expense!
Regardless, there are now people that claim the government would be overstepping its boundaries by forcing the business to offer its services to gay couples. Here's my response to those individuals.
The Bible Is Not A Weapon
For years being gay was something nobody talked about. The topic as a whole was avoided entirely. If someone came out as gay, they were ostracized from society. The ammunition for this bigotry was primarily religion.
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination (Leviticus 18:22)."
Yes. A man who lived 3000 years ago wrote those words (for all we know), and for years thereafter his words would claim their spot in history as the standard 20-word anthem for each and every bigot that ran out of logical arguments explaining why homosexuality was wrong.
However these days, even those twisted biblical verses are becoming irrelevant. Because of something magical: first-hand experiences. Due to the fact that being gay is more socially acceptable, people are having more experiences with people that are openly gay. And much to their surprise, they come to realize that homosexuals are no different than anyone else!
It really is a beautiful thing when individuals confront what they do not understand, with the purpose of discovering the unbiased truth, rather than blindly following the words that a 3,000-year-old man may or may not have said.
Don't get me wrong, I am religious and do believe the bible can be used to help strengthen a person spiritually. However the bible has, for centuries, been unfairly abused by oppressors as a means to validate their suppression of certain groups. It seems that the bible has spurred just as much hate as it has love and acceptance.
The Government Dictating Morals? Maybe So.
Some individuals, though, still claim that by allowing gay marriage and forcing businesses to serve gay couples, the government is abusing its powers by choosing the morals that society should value. These people do not understand just how ironic their claims are.
For years, the government has been doing just that. They may not have actively persecuted gays, but they did it indirectly by denying them the same opportunities as straight citizens. Take marriage for example.
Since they have historically given financial benefits to married couples, the government should never have been allowed to deny that right to gay couples on the basis that they don't fit or follow the religious guidelines of marriage. But they did it anyway.
Or look at this cake business. Is it fair that they can discriminate against gay couples purely because of their personal beliefs? If you say yes, I then ask you if it's okay for a business owner to discriminate based on skin color, if they believe certain skin colors are not worthy of their cakes? The scenarios bear more similarities than you might wish to concede.
So for everyone that is claiming the government is now "dictating morals", they may well be. But perhaps they are ensuring that American values like "equality" are truly being realized, instead of promoting the "everyone is equal but some are more equal than others" mentality that bigots have benefited from for years.
The Future Is Bright For Nondiscriminatory Wedding Cake Business Owners
I'm optimistic that our millennial generation will be the one that transforms homosexuality into normality. Look how much we've accomplished already. In truth, it is unlikely that we will ever reach a point in time where racists and bigots are extinct. And precisely that fact alone calls for the government to take a clear stance on the issue. Because the government does not operate in a gray area, but rather in a black and white one. If they are not supporting the rights of gays, than they are suppressing them.