We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone…

We refuse to work for homosexuals

It’s hard to imagine that when Sabrina Farber sent out an e-mail Wednesday she had any idea what kind of firestorm it would set off.

At 9:08 a.m. Farber, who together with her husband, Todd, owns Garden Guy Inc., a landscaping company on Hillcroft, hit "send" on a message that delivered a painful blow with the verbal equivalent of a smiley face.

"Subject: Cancel Appt – Garden Guy

"Dear Mr. Lord,

"I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you contacted us. I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals.

"Best of luck in finding someone else to fill your landscaping needs.

"All my best,

"Sabrina"

‘Marriage is under attack’

Michael Lord, who is building a house in the Heights with his partner, told me he had found the company through an Internet search. He liked the "before and after" photos on the company Web site.

He said he didn’t notice, at the bottom of one of the pages, under a photo of the Farbers and their four children, this:

"The God-ordained institution of marriage is under attack in courts across the nation, and your help is needed.

"Go to: www.nogaymarriage.com to take action."

Lord said he filled out a form on the Farbers’ Web site and received a return e-mail expressing enthusiasm for the project. He called the company Wednesday morning to set up an appointment.

"Mrs. Farber kept referring to me and my wife," said Lord. "I told her it was actually my partner."

One-word message: WOW

He said she didn’t say anything about that on the phone, but five minutes after they agreed to a Sunday appointment and hung up, he received the e-mail quoted above.

At 9:17 a.m. Lord forwarded the message to his partner, Gary Lackey, with a one-word message: "WOW."

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone our employer would serve…  

Driver Wins Right To Refuse Work On Bus With Gay Ads

(Minneapolis, Minnesota) A bus driver who says homosexuality is against her religion will be allowed to refuse to get behind the wheel of vehicles displaying gay ads.

Minneapolis-St Paul Metro Transit agreed to the demand by driver despite objections from her union according to an internal transit authority memo obtained by the Star Tribune newspaper.

The controversy arose after the authority accepted an ad from local LGBT magazine Lavender. The ad shows a photo of a young man and carries the slogan  "Unleash Your Inner Gay."

The ad runs on about 50 city buses.

When the driver objected the companied issued a memo to dispatchers instructing them not to assign the driver, identified only by her employee number, to any of the buses running the ad "under any circumstances" the Star Tribune reports.

"The decision has nothing to do with the content of the advertisement," he said. "It has everything to do with the employee’s religious beliefs," Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons told the paper.

Whoops…never mind…

Bus Company Admits Mistake On Gay Ad Dispute

Minneapolis-St Paul Metro Transit says it made a mistake in the way it handled the case of a driver who refused to operate a bus as long as it had an ad for a local gay publication.

Metro Transit says it was trying to do the "right thing" by the diver based on her religious beliefs, but in doing so sent the "wrong message" to the gay community.

…

"We are not persuaded that advertising, per se, infringes on religious practices and would be reluctant to make similar accommodations in the future," Gibbons said in a statement.

"We deeply regret any impressions of intolerance … Metro Transit employs and serves a diverse population, and we do our best to be respectful of all views."

"We deeply regret…"  Right.  Notice what’s missing?  Any hint that the driver in question won’t be allowed to refuse to operate a bus with an ad for a gay publication again in the future.  Kinda reminds me of Macy’s pusillanimous "apology" for yanking a Pride Week display from the window of its Boston store during Pride Week there, at the behest of local bigots.  Sure enough afterward came the "We deeply regret…"s but nothing changed.  Doesn’t look like it has in Minneapolis either.  I was a loyal Hecht Company customer until Macy’s bought it out.