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Anti-Discrimination Laws

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by anthonythegamer, Feb 25, 2015.

  1. I've been analyzing these laws for such a long time and the news, especially when that baker refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple, and I've been having certain thoughts about them.

    First of all, I think they're quite nice to have, especially when you live in a very conservative neighborhood because having every business owner refuse service to you can make things quite difficult.

    However, I don't think they really need to be in places where it's very accepting like major cities of the West Coast and the Northeast. This is because the owner would know that if they were to do such an ignorant thing, the victim(s) would call them out on social media and their business can go bust.

    Secondly, I think these laws wouldn't help in situations when the worker is very outspoken. I wouldn't want my service to be tainted by a cranky and disgruntled person.

    What do you guys think about these laws?
     
  2. BryanM

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    I don't keep it a secret that I support ENDA on a federal level 110%. Passing ENDA would nullify any state wanting to create a "license to discriminate" bill that would try to harm LGBT couples. I also believe that there should be no broad religious exemptions in the bill.
     
  3. Austin

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    It's hard to say. I don't think the baker should have to bake the cake, in that instance. Companies should have the right to refuse service in any case, really -- at least, small businesses. And you're right, in less rural areas where there is many other cake places around, they are just losing business. Let the market take care of itself.
     
  4. Yeah, if I had a wedding cake, I don't want it to be baked by a homophobic guy because well.... it kinda ruins my wedding a bit by knowing that.

    If small business owners were to do such a stupid thing, I wouldn't take it to court. I'll just laugh because I'm taking my money and their potential profit elsewhere.
     
    #4 anthonythegamer, Feb 26, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 26, 2015
  5. AwesomGaytheist

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    Anti-discrimination laws are needed everywhere, whether you're in a gay friendly state like California or a homophobic state like Alabama. Even in the most liberal places in the country, there are still bigots, and they still do discriminate against LGBT people. I have an aunt who lives in Santa Rosa, California, and one night when she and her wife were walking from their parked car to the entrance to the restaurant they were planning to have dinner at, someone in a truck drove by and shouted out the window, "Fucking dykes!" Hate is everywhere, and just because a place is politically progressive doesn't mean that there's no prejudice at all.

    Now as for the baker and photographer issue, yes you should be fined/held legally accountable if you refuse someone service simply because of their sexual orientation and claim that serving them would violate your religion. If that bakery shop owner told a Black person, "I don't serve Black people because it's against my religion," he would face the same legal ramifications as outlined in the anti-discrimination laws.

    Now the problem here is getting it enforced in red states if we were ever to have ENDA passed at the federal level. If that same baker told a Muslim, "I refuse to serve you because it's against my religion," that would be illegal, however could you find anyone willing to investigate that claim in, say, Kansas?

    If I am ever discriminated against, I would immediately go to court and present my case with the hopes of seeing that business owner punished. It is no different to refuse to serve my husband and I because we're gay than to refuse to serve a Black person, or a Muslim, or a woman, or anybody else because of their protected minority status. Discrimination is discrimination.

    A couple years ago, a small town about 20 minutes from where I grew up passed an anti-discrimination ordinance. Instantly the bigots were plotting a recall campaign against the mayor and village councilmembers who voted in favor, as "This is the law that is used to attack and shut down Christian businesses!" Discrimination is discrimination, and just like saying it's against your religion doesn't get you out of paying your taxes (Ahem, Kent Hovind), saying it's your religion doesn't give you the right to discriminate against another human being.
     
  6. Kaiser

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    Anti-discrimination laws are a lot like gun laws. They don't stop the "criminals" from breaking the law, it only assures punishment, if they are caught/accredited. Really, the only people that tend to suffer, are the law-abiding citizens. For this reason, I have an issue with them, but they do more good than bad.

    I'm a very radical individual, when it comes to politics. I'm very in favor of individual freedoms, within reason. I scare away the left, and I horrify the right; that would be the best way to put it.

    But this is one area where you can't exactly afford individual choice, as hard as it is to say that (and I'm clenching my teeth writing that).

    To give you the most basic and simple example:

    Many businesses outsource to other countries. Why?

    For the price of 1 American worker, they can have 5-6 foreign workers do the same job -- and many times, they provide little to no extra benefits. It's practically all financial gain for those businesses.

    In similarity, if there were areas that lacked anti-discrimination laws, the temptation for businesses to make their primary headquarters there, skyrockets:

    You can fire people, for whatever reason, and get away with it. It's technically legal there. It'd give businesses more authority to abuse, than they already do.

    Sure you could boycott them, but come on. Is Wal-Mart going to care for a few disgruntled customers? Especially if they're the only retail facility in the area. What are you going to do? They've got you by the economical testicles; you're their bitch, to put it mildly.

    You may hurt a small business, but that actually benefits larger companies, because you're contributing to the removal of any potential competition, leaving them as your only alternative. There's too much of a slippery slope here, which is why these types of laws are necessary.


    To spit some street wisdom:

    "Mothafuckas act fine when they not got it, but give 'em a little jangle, they sell they soul to the Devil's pit."​


    Basically, money breeds corruption and unethical tendencies. Even if some are above that and resist, they are outnumbered by those who do not. These types of laws are the best checkmate to, pretty much, anybody that isn't a white male.
     
  7. I agree that hate is everywhere, however I'm beginning to realize that laws won't really do anything to change that.

    I live in a neighborhood with a sizable population of traditional Chinese and Vietnamese people. It goes without saying that they're quite ignorant about LGBT stuff and the business owners aren't aware about the anti-discrimination laws in California and did whatever they wanted.

    My peers grew up with this type of attitude surrounding them, but they grew up to be accepting of LGBT. The key is education about the subject matter. Educate our youth about the struggles like Stonewall Riots and anti-sodomy laws. Most of my peers are aware that I'm gay and stuff like discrimination hits close to them. Racist small businesses must definitely get punished, but it's better to hurt them where it hurts the most, which is the money and have everybody hate them in some capacity.

    If it were handled by having mandate that they provide service, who's really getting benefited? I lose my money to the people I abhor to get an item and they make some profit off of me. A better sense of justice is to call them out on social media and a few hundred other people will know, and the word spreads. You can even try to post this on a news site like HuffPost or LA Times. What will result is that the business will get hurt while my money and their "could have been" profit is gone. However, this usually only works in accepting areas with and accepting population.