Freedom for businesses should be a given
Mesa Legend
Businesses across the country have recently made news as a result of what many are calling discrimination. Most recently, Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) came under fire. The bill, signed by Gov. Mike Pence, states that businesses can deny service to potential customers if the service violates the business owners’ beliefs. Somehow, this has sparked outrage and been labeled as symptoms of bigotry. The idea that a business could be forced to serve someone in a manner which violates their personal convictions is beyond alarming. No one would walk into a Muslim-owned restaurant and ask for a pulled pork sandwich. But it is acceptable, apparently, to walk into a Christian-owned bakery and ask them to cater a gay wedding. Several of these Christian businesses have said they will not provide their services for occasions such as same-sex marriages, but would gladly serve their gay customers in any other situation.
This, however, is frowned upon in 21st-century America. It is frowned upon so much that states must resort to passing legislation giving businesses the right to deny service. Last time I checked, though, business were allocated that right. “We reserve the right to deny service to anyone,” apparently doesn’t carry any weight in America anymore. Rather, businesses who deny service must bear the cross of boycotts and horrible media coverage. The demagoguery on the part of the LGBT community has to stop. The issue at hand goes deeper than Republican versus Democrat, Christian versus gay, or traditional versus modern. It goes beyond all the partisan problems facing our country and forces us to examine the issue from an angle of right versus wrong. A business owner should not be forced to serve someone in a manner which goes against their core beliefs, no matter who they are.
Christians should not be forced to cater gay weddings, nor should gays be required to serve Christian weddings. The moment we start forcing individuals to violate their deeply-held beliefs is the moment we cease to be America. Thankfully, Indiana made the right call and protected the rights of its citizens. The state provided an example for the rest of the country to follow. Whether we agree or disagree with a given position, we need to protect the right to espouse those beliefs. If we truly value freedom, we will do just that.
