By now I'm sure everyone knows about Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's veto of that so-called "religious freedom" bill that really was just an excuse for business owners to discriminate against folks. And while the governor is enjoying her moment in the spotlight and accepting the thanks of people who supported her decision, I think she's still full of shit. I firmly believe Brewer would not have caved if not for the loss of money (mainly via the Super Bowl and its sponsors) she was about to face had she not vetoed that bill. I don't think for a second that her decision was made because it was the right thing to do or whatever bullshit reason she gave during her press conference last night. This vote was about one thing, pure and simple: money. Arizona was not prepared for the backlash that followed this proposed bill and once huge sponsors like Apple and the NFL themselves started making noise, the state had to do something to keep businesses from fleeing and taking their money with them. It's a shame that in this day and age people still feel like it's okay to deny service to someone. If a Christian bakery owner tells a gay couple he won't bake a cake for their wedding because he thinks homosexuality is a sin, what's to stop a Jewish baker from denying service to a Muslim customer because he dislikes Islam? Couldn't business owners deny service to anyone and claim it was done due to his or her religious beliefs?
Customer: Hello. I want to order cake to celebrate my daughter's college graduation.
Baker: Sorry. My religion believes in women staying home and not going to school. No cake for you!
It's a slippery slope, my friends. I would think, especially in this economy, business owners would be clamoring to get whatever business they could. And since when did providing a service mean that you're endorsing the customer's life? If a bigoted baker was approached by a heterosexual interracial couple who wanted a cake for their wedding, his ability to provide said cake isn't an endorsement of their marriage and it doesn't stop him from being a bigot. He isn't joining this couple in matrimony, he's doing his job and, hopefully, keeping his personal feelings to himself. Why can't people just stay out of other people's business? In a perfect world, a customer and baker would have a conversation that went more like this:
Customer: Hello. I want to order a cake to celebrate my ten-year reunion with my same sex partner.
Baker: What kind of cake would you like?
Do your job. Mind your business. End of story.
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