[On Indiana's "Religious Freedom" bill]
Eric Miller, Executive Director of Advance America, is another anti-LGBT activist who stood by [Indiana Governor Mike] Pence as he signed the bill. Advance America praised Pence for signing the bill last week, openly stating that it would allow wedding vendors to refuse to serve same-sex couples and allow Christian businesses to refuse transgender people access to restrooms. Miller was quoted as saying, “It is vitally important to protect religious freedom in Indiana. It’s the right thing to do. It was therefore important to pass Senate Bill 101 in 2015 in order to help protect churches, Christian businesses and individuals from those who want to punish them because of their Biblical beliefs!”
31 comments
One of my ladies lives in Indiana, apparently loads of wiccan and pastafarian places are popping up that deny service to Christians as a result of this law, and someone opened up a "Church of Cannabis" because under this law, he can't be prosecuted for smoking pot. Karmic retribution is beautiful.
Its high time radical far right idiotic tea party type people either set up their own country or leave. Let them do as they please and see if they can get anywhere in the world with a racist, homophobic, divisive theocratic society where everyone has a gun, education and healthcare are nonexistent, and women are only allowed to be sex toys and baby factories. All that will happen is the rich will own everything (and outsource everything abroad to keep their money and profits) and the others will stay stupid and eat 7-11 hot dogs and frozen cheese sticks every weekend. They don't care about the country being together or America, they'd rather side with Putin than our own elected president just because he has a D behind his name. The biggest hypocrites in this country ever.
It would also allow Muslim wedding vendors to refuse to service Christian couples. What goes around, comes around.
Discriminating against people is not religious freedom, asshole, it's religious oppression.
No-one wants to punish them because of their Biblical beliefs. People are voting with the feet because of their bigotry and discrimination. Most of the people protesting are Christian themselves, who have latched onto the Christian belief of "Love thy neighbor as yourself", instead of your belief in hatred and bigotry.
refuse transgender people access to restrooms
Okay, then they can piss on your floor.
It was therefore important to pass Senate Bill 101 in 2015 in order to help protect churches, Christian businesses and individuals from those who want to punish them because of their Biblical beliefs!
Except that to avoid the law being slapped down before the ink even dried you extended that to ALL religions. So now you have to deal with non-Christians punishing you for not following THEIR beliefs. You've essentially accomplished segregation 2.0 AND you've given people license to actually persecute Christians. Plus, you've now provided bigoted businesses a way to out themselves so people can avoid them. This has to rank among the top 10 stupidest political stunts I've ever seen right up there with the GOP nearly defaulting on our debt.
Indiana needs to expunge all thew child labor and child welfare laws o good Christian folks can strike their kids with a rod of iron, send them to work in the fields, have them marry ar 12 and all the other good christian stuff.
Rocks need to be put in public places for the stonings.
I don't think any of those lawmakers really thought that bill through.
I also have to wonder if these kinds of people think that with a theocratic nation if their religion is going to be the ruling one. Boy are they in for a huge surprise. I can't wait for the infighting to begin.
What I'm curious about is exactly how these establishments will determine who meets their criteria for service. Will it just be what someone looks like? Will everyone be forced to fill out and sign a "Statement of Faith" before they can get service at a restaurant or order a pizza? How else could they possibly know any of these personal things about their customers? I can understand if it's a wedding cake with names on it, but what about at a restaurant or pizza delivery place that takes phone orders?
> One of my ladies lives in Indiana, apparently loads of wiccan and pastafarian places are popping up that deny service to Christians as a result of this law, and someone opened up a "Church of Cannabis" because under this law, he can't be prosecuted for smoking pot. Karmic retribution is beautiful.
Church of Cannabis
Even if this were a case of protecting religious freedom (even though it clearly isn't), explain to me why freedom of religion - something that can be freely chosen at will and changed throughout one's lifetime - is apparently more important than the right to not be discriminated against based on inherent characteristics that one is powerless to change about themselves in cases where these two things are mutually exclusive. Why do people just automatically assume this and take it for granted?
Once again, for the slow learners: your religion (which you chose freely, if you are an adult) may (or may not) require you NOT to get a sex change or NOT to engage in homosexual liaisons. So don't do it. That's ALL, that's as far as freedom of religion goes.
If we let you bar gays or transgender people from your public business, next you'll want them barred from other businesses that you frequent that do not discriminate, so you won't have to bump elbows with them at the dairy counter. Next you'll want to bar them from the public sidewalk, and you'll want to forbid them from moving in next door, and next thing you know, we have become Iraq.
But what if the business is run by non Christians and they serve those that do not hate? If a fundie family comes in spouting off about atheists, homosexuals, Pagans or whomever else, and shop owners have them removed, will you stay silent or be first in line saying it is their right to do do?
But, according to Pence, the bill didn't allow discrimination.
I mean seriously, how stupid do politicians think people are?
@LDM
They already have. I believe it was Mississippi where the HRC gave out "your business is welcome here" stickers for stores to put in their front windows and the AFA said this was Christian persecution.
The fact that this bill was passed should indicate to all fundies that Christianity is not under attack in the USA, but they will continue to have the persecution complex. If anything they'll probably frame the bill as a necessity to prevent the ongoing Christian persecution in government and on the streets.
Apparently Governor Pence had ambitions to run for President. So much for that idea. I'll bet he wishes he could get that signature back now. This is what happens when you listen to nutcases.
I wouldn't mind but they're neutering the effects of the bill as we speak but the political damage has been done. Serves him right.
It is vitally important to protect religious freedom in Indiana
When the stores with the "we serve all customers" signs in their windows start getting all the business, the bigots will have to wake up to the fact that their whopping radical christian majority is indeed a tiny minority. Let's see how long their fear of persuction stands up against their going broke. I'm betting money will win against religion.
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"how long until the Christians are up in arms because some Jewish guy won't sell them a bacon cheeseburger?"
Jewish fast food employee who refused to sell Eric Miller something with bacon in it: "I refused because eating bacon is against my religion! SB 101 says it's my right, religious freedom and all?"
Eric Miller (fuming): "Listen to me very carefully! *Religious freedom* means that workers who are *BIBLE-BELIEVING CHRISTIANS* can refuse service to avoid compromising *CHRISTIAN* beliefs!! It was NEVER meant to be used by followers of *FALSE GODS* to promote *UN*CHRISTIAN beliefs!!!!"
"It was therefore important to pass Senate Bill 101 in 2015 in order to help protect churches, Christian businesses and individuals from those who want to punish them because of their Biblical beliefs!"
Since when is being made to accept gay people's money a punishment?
it would allow wedding vendors to refuse to serve same-sex couples and allow Christian businesses to refuse transgender people access to restrooms.
It also allow them to refuse to serve adulterers and people who work on the Sabbath, since the Bible provides the same or worse punishment for those offenses.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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