Letters on religious liberty bill: March 6

New form of Jim Crow

I hope that if the bill to protect the “religious beliefs” of Kentucky businesses that refuse services to gay, lesbian or transgender clients does pass the Senate, it will require those businesses to display signage to that affect.

I am reminded of an instance in 1961 when my family traveled through Arkansas. Tired, hungry and thirsty, we stopped at the only restaurant we could find. On the door was a sign that read, “No Dogs, No N-----s”. My parents made us get back in the car.

My younger brother argued that we were neither, but my mom said that if a black family who is also tired, hungry and thirsty couldn’t stop, neither could we. I would like to know ahead of time if a vendor is denying my fellow brothers and sisters before I decide to use their services. Sometimes it’s much better to go without.

Disgraceful bias

Senate Bill 180, allowing businesses to refuse service to gays, is not religious liberty; it is bigotry, an intolerance blacks in our country fought against for decades.

Such discrimination would be aimed at “openly gay” members of the LGBT community; not all members disclose their sexual preference due to this type of discrimination. So, if two men decide to dine together, will you assume they are gay? Will you ask them? While you’re refusing service to one gay, I guarantee five slipped under your radar.

The Bible’s moral teachings are intended to help us live according to God's will, not to condemn others. Or did we forget, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”?

And where will the discernment end? Will it be allowed to refuse service to any “sinner” who doesn’t conform to ones beliefs or just the sinners convenient to the cause? Last I checked, we are all sinners.

If passed, I think all gays should quietly patronize these biased businesses incognito and then flamboyantly post their visits all over social media. This isn’t about gay rights; it’s about human rights. I will boycott any business that practices this modern-day segregation.

Deny all sinners, then

I read that Republican state Sen. Albert Robinson has sponsored a bill that would allow Christian-owned businesses to refuse to sell services to gays and lesbians.

Primarily, it seems, the bill is aimed to protect bakeries, photographers and florists that provide wedding-related services. Robinson stated that the religious beliefs of those business owners “prevent them from using their skills to promote a celebration that runs counter to what the Bible teaches about marriage.”

In that case, I’m sure they will also be refusing wedding services to anyone who has ever been married before, and to fornicators, especially any woman who is not a virgin on her wedding day. Those pious business owners will adhere to these measures since the Bible says way more about those sins than it does about homosexuality. In fact, Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, but he did talk about the sin of divorce.

Jesus also said, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

This bill is wrong for a lot of reasons, but mostly it is completely unnecessary. If a business owner doesn’t want to provide services to gays and lesbians, all the owner has to do is make customers aware of that. Put a sign in the window or in advertisements. No gay or lesbian will want to buy from them. I would appreciate knowing which businesses operate that way, so I would know not to buy from them.

Where would it end?

Over the past decade, I have witnessed an unfortunate trend toward discrimination against gay citizens, based on, of all things, religious beliefs. Nothing provides more evidence of that than Senate Bill 180, approved by a Senate committee.

If it becomes law, Lexington’s mayor may not be welcomed into some businesses in his own city; Sir Elton John may not be able to go into some restaurants in Louisville after one of his concerts, and a great number of Kentucky’s gay citizens, many of whom I proudly call friends, could suffer the same fate in cities across our fine state.

Will police one day not have to protect gay citizens? Will doctors not have to treat them? Will vets be able to refuse to treat their dogs? How far will this go and who else will end up affected? Nobody knows the answer to those questions, and that is what we as Kentuckians should fear.

The House is still in a position to stop such legislation. But if we ever hope to make Kentucky a better place to live, we have to start electing people who have a broader perspective of the world and who get what our true needs are here in Kentucky. Gay people are not the problem; our outdated tax code and two failing pension systems are.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 8:19 PM with the headline "Letters on religious liberty bill: March 6."