In 1964 Congress passed a public accommodation law that prohibits discrimination against persons being served by any business that serves the public. This year in a narrowly decided court case the US Supreme Court ruled that a baker could refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. This case like many before the Supreme Court has to decide between 2 constitutional rights. The freedom of religion vs. the right to be served in a public business. Not unexpectedly a conservative court ruled in a narrow way to overrule lower courts that had ruled in favor of the right to be served.
I thought of this recently when Sarah Huckabee Sanders was refused service at the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia because of her working for an administration with whom the owner disagreed. I guess the owner could have used her religious freedom beliefs against an immoral immigration policy to claim the same right as the baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. This is where we are today. Could a Jewish business refuse to serve someone with a Nazi flag on their t shirt? Or a minority business not serve a person with a Confederate flag tattoo?
Even though it would be morally repugnant to serve a person whose beliefs you oppose when you open a business to serve the general public you should have to serve everyone or close your business.
No comments:
Post a Comment