Earlier this week the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision that favored the cake baker in Colorado who chose not to bake a cake for a same-sex couple. Unfortunately, some people did not get the memo about what they decided and why. For instance, a hardware store owner, Jeff Amyx, in Tennessee who took down a sign in 2015 that said "No Gays Allowed" has rehung it stating "Christianity is under attack. This is a great win, don't get me wrong, but this is not the end, this is just the beginning," Amyx said. "Right now we're seeing a ray of sunshine. This is 'happy days' for Christians all over America, but dark days will come."
The question of what is under attack is equal rights under the law. The case that SCOTUS decided was that the baker from Colorado's rights were not treated equally under the law by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. One commissioner on the panel during a public hearing disparaged the baker’s faith as “despicable” and another member compared his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust. “This sentiment is inappropriate for a commission charged with the solemn responsibility of fair and neutral enforcement of Colorado’s anti-discrimination law — a law that protects discrimination on the basis of religion as well as sexual orientation,” Justice Kennedy wrote.
The court said Colorado law can protect gay people from being discriminated against by businesses that are open to the public, but the law must be applied in a manner neutral toward religion.So, in essence, the Court found for the baker because of the treatment he received by the Commission, which has a degree of irony in that the gay couple seeking to buy a cake from him had a similar experience, thought to his credit, without the degree of contempt.
Back to the hardware store owner, though. If he makes duplicate keys and a gay person wishes him to make keys for his home, Mr. Amyx will be hard pressed to defend 1) limiting access to his store to that person 2) refusing to make a key because of his religious beliefs. Mr. Amyx owns a hardware store and sells hardware. Keys are hardware. If Mr. Amyx makes keys for anyone, he must make them for everyone. Mr. Amyx must allow people to buy his hardware regardless of his beliefs because he cannot refuse service based on race, creed, color, gender, or sexuality under federal law.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Sadly, Mr. Amyx and others will be looking for opportunities to test the degree to which they can discriminate owing to religious beliefs. For instance if the customer who is gay wanted a house key for his spouse to be made, Mr. Amyx might argue that for religious reasons he won't do it because his faith does not support gay marriage. The Supreme Court and/or lower courts would have to decide if their is precedent to support that viewpoint. More to the point, the courts will be constantly barraged with how free freedom actually is within the walls of a nation that seem to be closing in and minds with them.
The question of what is under attack is equal rights under the law. The case that SCOTUS decided was that the baker from Colorado's rights were not treated equally under the law by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. One commissioner on the panel during a public hearing disparaged the baker’s faith as “despicable” and another member compared his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust. “This sentiment is inappropriate for a commission charged with the solemn responsibility of fair and neutral enforcement of Colorado’s anti-discrimination law — a law that protects discrimination on the basis of religion as well as sexual orientation,” Justice Kennedy wrote.
The court said Colorado law can protect gay people from being discriminated against by businesses that are open to the public, but the law must be applied in a manner neutral toward religion.So, in essence, the Court found for the baker because of the treatment he received by the Commission, which has a degree of irony in that the gay couple seeking to buy a cake from him had a similar experience, thought to his credit, without the degree of contempt.
Back to the hardware store owner, though. If he makes duplicate keys and a gay person wishes him to make keys for his home, Mr. Amyx will be hard pressed to defend 1) limiting access to his store to that person 2) refusing to make a key because of his religious beliefs. Mr. Amyx owns a hardware store and sells hardware. Keys are hardware. If Mr. Amyx makes keys for anyone, he must make them for everyone. Mr. Amyx must allow people to buy his hardware regardless of his beliefs because he cannot refuse service based on race, creed, color, gender, or sexuality under federal law.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Sadly, Mr. Amyx and others will be looking for opportunities to test the degree to which they can discriminate owing to religious beliefs. For instance if the customer who is gay wanted a house key for his spouse to be made, Mr. Amyx might argue that for religious reasons he won't do it because his faith does not support gay marriage. The Supreme Court and/or lower courts would have to decide if their is precedent to support that viewpoint. More to the point, the courts will be constantly barraged with how free freedom actually is within the walls of a nation that seem to be closing in and minds with them.
