Secular Businesses Claiming Religious Rights

Agree.

Those who know do not want others to know.

 

so do you think doctors should be allowed to discriminate based on race or gender if they claim it's due to religious beliefs?

 

Doctors performing services? Absolutely as long as its not an emergency or condition where the patient is in danger in which case absolutely not.

Should a Jewish sign maker be forced to make swastika signs, or swastika decorated cakes?

 

much of the bible can be taken many ways, it's like a magic eight ball for those in power to use against the people

 

I think all business owners should be free to discriminate against anyone they want for any reason they want.
If someone is a racist jerk they should be free to practice it in their business dealings.

I believe a customer has no right to goods and services from any business.
Business is conducted when people agree, not when the customer says so.

 

Some may use it that way but the bible means what it says to whom it was written at the time it was written. People may use it as though it says what they want but at whatever point they move away from what it originally meant they become wrong.

The bible doesn't have reletivistic meanings.

 

Not quite accurate. Every private enterprise owner has the right to operate their business in a manner consistent with their PREFERENCES. It doesn't matter a jot whether those preferences are religious, or simply 'mood'. Private means private.

 

You'll need to check with all of those other, more conservative religious groups on this.

 

Don't 'discriminate', just ask them to leave. Private property is private property.

 

Same again. Ask them to leave.

 

And this is actually the law. Private property laws supersede all else. Only 'public' premises are obliged to adhere to anti-discrimination laws.

Few people realise that, sadly.

 

This is a matter of the way that we distribute goods and services in America. Businesses work under the auspices of the government, gaining several kinds of protections and benefits. We ALL pay for those protections and benefits.

Customers can't "say so" - they have to meet the offers made by the business.

But, those offers have to be made to all, as our government is founded on equal opportunity and the benefits businesses receive are paid by all.

 

True.

Of course, stores, hotels, and other such places are public accommodations and fall under public accommodation law regardless of who owns them.

If you wanted to open a KKKKostco you would probably have to strengthen the "club" aspect of it. I'm not so sure that would be possible, but ...

 

Its not about fair. Its about choice.

 

huh?
that didnt make sense? care to elaborate?

 

equal rights not equal opportinuty

and for rights, your rights are 'equal' to your money.

 

A business should be able to choose whether it offers/covers contraception.
An employee should be able to choose whether they work for such a business.
A consumer should be able to choose whether they do trade with that business (or boycott it).

Whether its 'fair' or not is subjective, up to each individual involved, and therefore has no bearing on the conversation.

 

not really, yes it is subjective, one of several reasons its flavor leans religious, and courts/jurys decide what is fair all the time.

 

Freedom means the right to do stupid things. While I personally think refusing to serve or hire people based on arbitrary distinctions, I believe it is a right given to individuals. Just as the right to free speech is primarily intended to protect unpopular speech (popular speech needs no protection), we are free to be stupid in other ways as well.

 

The way it currently works is that there is a distinction between selling a product and engaging in speech related to a product. A Jewish sign maker could have to sell letter stencils to a Nazi, but they don't have to make a swastika sign. They would have to sell a cake they already made to a Nazi, but they wouldn't have to decorate it with Nazi symbols. A Christian baker would have to sell one of their cakes to a gay couple, but they would not be required to spell "Hooray homosexuality" in icing.

 

disagree, when I go to a gas station, I want to be able to buy gas... regardless of the owners religion, gender or race

so we get to a point where black people can't go to certain towns or travel certain routes as no one will serve them - this is why we have laws to prevent this nonsense

 

exactly.....

 

we should have a public option to prevent employers from trying to use health care to force their beliefs on their employees

 

why does the option have to be public?

 

But you reserve the right - most people do - to boycott a business based on your opinion of the owners' political beliefs. Chick-fil-a, e.g.