Republican Congress Strips Women and Gays of Rights Under Guise of ‘Religious Freedom’

originally posted by: OpinionatedB

You can have the right to reasonable accommodation for religious observances but only if you work for a large corporation?

Explain this to me??? Where are you getting this??? What kind of Reasonable Accommodations for Religion are Large Corporations bound to give???

originally posted by: OpinionatedB
a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

Once upon a time, I saw that a charitable organisation was hiring for a position I was qualified for, during a time I was looking for work.

It seemed a lovely job, and really the type of organization that I would have enjoyed working for.. but there was something I didn't know until I saw the job application.. (just my ignorance that was I guess.. lol) What I had not known until I went to drop off my resume and pick up an application for employment.. was that the charitable organization was a religious one..

It was sad to me at the time.. as I was not the correct religion to work there (and they wanted a letter of recommendation from the pastor of your church, and the church had to be a specific kind of church, and you had to have been attending said church faithfully for at least one year..) and I didn't qualify for that part..

I guess this was important to them, as they were a charity that was affiliated with one specific religion and so they wanted their workers to represent that religion to the public..

and even though I didn't qualify then for that job, for that reason, I didn't get mad about it either.. that is their right under the constitution as we have something called separation of church and state..

I don't expect a Mosque to be forced under non discrimination laws to hire a Methodist preacher... and I don't expect the Methodist church to loose the right to have only a practicing Methodist as their receptionist.. these are private organizations, and as such should have the right to represent themselves how they wish to the community, and to themselves...

Then cheers to you! I have chosen not to apply for jobs at companies I didn't support...I also know where I am not wanted and don't have an interest in trying to force people to like me if they choose not to. But I'm also not looking for a law that says "you must like WeAreAwake and accept him into any place or job he wishes to enter". I don't want nor need SPECIAL RIGHTS...and no one does.

They aren't doing out of fear of progress but in the name of keeping us all at odds with each other.
It's typical political theater designed to do anything but address meaningful issues like the economy.
Republicans should need no further proof of the complete absurdity of their party and Democrats they can just look back at the last 7 years of continual lawlessness by the Administration.
Both parties are still playing divide and conquer fighting over who will get on the lifeboats instead of trying to stop the ship from sinking.

a reply to: poncho1982

It's interesting to see them defend discrimination.

I was simply trying to put things in context. Surprised, actually.

They could have shut me up 3 pages ago by agreeing.

But it's not about equality.
It's not about discrimination.

It's all about pushing an agenda.

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE

originally posted by: beezzer

originally posted by: arpgme
a reply to: beezzer

For example, If you ask the bakery to put "hail the KKK" on a cake that's promoting discrimination and their businese could get in trouble with discrimination laws...

Bull.

That's all about the 1st Amendment. Government cannot make any law abridging the freedom of speech.

And if that's what I want on my cake, then THEY HAVE TO MAKE IT!

Freedom of speech is much more than words. It would be better worded as freedom of expression. If I wish to express my opinion and I'm not breaking the law...I'm allowed. If I decide to do that by refusing to lift a finger to support a marriage I feel should not be allowed...that is my choice. I shouldn't be forced to support anything I don't believe in.

Truth. Thanks for the correction.

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: kaylaluv

Do bakers decorate cakes?

Do bakers write words on cakes?

What difference does the words mean?

Words are just words. they get paid by the letter.

I will pay them.

I could give a damn about respecting what they "like" or "dislike".


It's not about them.

It's about me as the customer. And I am in the right, as a customer.

They opened a business to sell decorated cakes.

PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION!

I want a decorated cake and I want it decorated how I want it decorated.

If I am a gay person, and I want "Happy Wedding, Bob and Beezzer", then they have to DO IT!

I don't care!

If I want that same Christian baker to make a cake that says, "Happy Satan Day" then it is my right!

If I want a cake from a Muslim baker that has a picture of the Prophet and it says, "Happy Ramadan" then that it my right as a customer!

"It's not about them...It's about me". And that is the problem. Neither you nor anyone else is "special". You are one person and the baker is another. As much as you may not like it...he as as much of a right to express his opinion as you do. You have as much right to decide not to support his opinion as he does. No person should have to do anything they don't want to...that is part of being free. Free to decide what you will and won't do, free to raise your children, have an opinion and live your life. Same as a gay person has all those rights also. But neither deserves a special right to force another person to do something that is against their values...morals...or religion.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

And that is the root of the problem, keep the people busy bickering about none sense issues, (as we already have laws that protect discrimination, freedoms and constitutional rights of) and away from the real issues that are affecting us, our economy, our country and our future.

I tell you, politicians and their minions including their masters for hire manipulators are playing the public just fine.

a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

I guess it's not just me that sees this kind of thing as an anathema to freedom.

a reply to: beezzer

The thing is, we don't live in a communist state with state ran businesses and a state approved only religion.

people seem to want to change that... they act like they think it is better than freedom.. but the road they want to go down cuts two ways.. and neither way is a good way..

the only way is freedom - for all people... and accepting an occasional no to something..

a reply to: beezzer

no.. this new legislative push to take away freedom is scaring the hell out of me... really it is... I thought freedom of religion in this country would never ever go away... it was one of the many things that made America so great... and they are pushing harder than ever to remove it..

we are moving quickly now toward a communist state... and if we do happen to get there - NO ONE will like it..

a reply to: OpinionatedB

Imagine the society that would applaud what we're dealing with.

It's coming sooner than you think.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

So where is the limit to Religious Freedom then??

If a Muslim hotel owner won't rent a room to a christian just because he's a christian is that ok even though the hotel is open to the general public???

I'm not talking about a Religious Hotel either. Obviously any Religious Institution should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of their religion within that establishment. But what about a private business which is open to the general public and just happens that the owner is a follower of some Religion.

a reply to: beezzer

The quickest way to destroy a nation is from within..

I think its already here... we seem to have been defeated already.. slowly slowly yet now they are in power - and now they are using emotional stances to change it all... and the emotional are falling for it...

and we will all pay a very high price...

Something I have watched for a long time is the decline of our morals. I'm not going to state what morals are good and what morals are not...but I will state this.

At one point in time, for argument sake...50% of everything was moral. Therefore, 50% was not. But over the years, what is moral has expanded to include things that were previously immoral. Again, for argument sake, lets say today we are at 80% of everything is moral and 20% is immoral. Isn't it a bit strange that at the rate we are "progressing", eventually murder may become moral, corruption, rape? It sometimes concerns me that we seem to be trying to make anything that anyone "is"...acceptable. When will NAMBLA members be acceptable? Lying has become acceptable, so has cheating, stealing and rioting depending upon who you are, what color your skin is and who you (incorrectly) believe was shot by a cop for no good reason.

We give everyone a trophy and thereby destroy the purpose of the trophy in the first place. We (or at least liberals) consider a hard working, legal citizen no different than a law breaking invader who mooches off the system we built. We elect a president BECAUSE he is black...rather than because he is the right person and then condemn people who say so calling them racist.

Is this really what we want to become? A society where everything is allowed...is to be permitted...is considered acceptable? You see...at least in my opinion, that is actually anarchy. Sure, you don't see it as a rise to anarchy because it is presented from the other direction...a removal of morals to allow everyone and all actions they take to be acceptable.

If immoral disappears and everything everyone does is considered moral...aren't we dead as a society? Don't we need to be able to look at the drunk beating his wife next door and be appalled? Don't we need to be able to say to our children "don't end up like that"?

originally posted by: mOjOm
a reply to: OpinionatedB

So where is the limit to Religious Freedom then??

If a Muslim hotel owner won't rent a room to a christian just because he's a christian is that ok even though the hotel is open to the general public???

I'm not talking about a Religious Hotel either. Obviously any Religious Institution should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of their religion within that establishment. But what about a private business which is open to the general public and just happens that the owner is a follower of some Religion.

In my opinion...absolutely YES! There should be black only clubs, gay only bars, Christian only hotels, Jewish only cabs and everything else. The entire idea of a "melting pot" has been discredited by our history. As much as some people wish we didn't see other's differences...we do. We like being with people like ourselves, with our values, our fears. We want our family to be like us, we want our friends to be like us...and why not. Forcing an animal like man to live in a manner that is against his nature hasn't worked very well...has it? Why not allow people to be with other people with whom they share a brotherhood.

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE
Again, for argument sake, lets say today we are at 80% of everything is moral and 25% is immoral.

Check your math.

Isn't it a bit strange that at the rate we are "progressing", eventually murder may become moral, corruption, rape? It sometimes concerns me that we seem to be trying to make anything that anyone "is"...acceptable.

That is nothing new. We've been making murder morally acceptable since we started killing each other. Both war and capital punishment are morally accepted every day and have been for a while so you can't attribute that to progress. The bible made murder and rape morally ok when God commanded the Israelites to do both to it's enemies.

PS: Look at our relationship with other people in other nations. We hate each other much of the time. Keeping to ourselves isn't a bad thing. At least not when it results in peace.

You are a business, you open your doors to the public. Therefore you should serve everyone..does not matter your beliefs, sexuality, culture or race. This goes for everyone.gays, religious folks..etc

As for the cake thing...if you are a public business, then make and design cake for everyone, no matter how idiotic, obscene or insulting to your religion it is.

If you do not want to do any of this..go private and deny anyone you want.

How hard is any of this to understand ?

No one has answered the question..why is the religious right so afraid of progress?

originally posted by: mOjOm

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE
Again, for argument sake, lets say today we are at 80% of everything is moral and 25% is immoral.

Check your math.

Isn't it a bit strange that at the rate we are "progressing", eventually murder may become moral, corruption, rape? It sometimes concerns me that we seem to be trying to make anything that anyone "is"...acceptable.

That is nothing new. We've been making murder morally acceptable since we started killing each other. Both war and capital punishment are morally accepted every day and have been for a while so you can't attribute that to progress. The bible made murder and rape morally ok when God commanded the Israelites to do both to it's enemies.

Thank you for the math correction. That was stupid

a reply to: OpinionatedB

Ah, the art of war, is been creeping into our nation for a long time, in the name of tolerance. . . hailed as such.

Then you wonder who really is the biggest enemy of our nation, interestingly is within our nations law makers and kiss butt politicians.