No Room At The Inn…
On the one hand, we’re fighting for, and winning in some places, the right to marry. On the other, there are still gutter crawling bigots out there who are perfectly willing to argue for their right to discriminate against gay people, right down to the level of basic goods and services…
UK Christians, Muslims and Jews are planning to rally outside Parliament Tuesday against new gay rights laws that they claim will force them to "actively condone and promote" gay sex.
According to BBC News, organizers say the Sexual Orientation Regulations would limit their right to live according to religious beliefs.
…
The legislation would ban discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexuality.
The BBC reports that hotels could be prosecuted for refusing to provide rooms for gay couples and parishes obliged to rent out halls for gay wedding receptions.
Equally, gay bars would not be able to ban straight couples.
Thomas Cordrey, barrister and public policy analyst with the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, told the BBC: "The debate in the Lords is a signal to the government of the need to acknowledge these regulations do not currently strike the correct balance between two competing rights. Christians have no desire to discriminate unjustly on the grounds of sexual orientation, but they cannot and must not be forced to actively condone and promote sexual practices which the Bible teaches are wrong."
Note the formulation, discriminate unjustly. Since when did bigots ever regard anything they ever did to the object of their hatred as unjust? Somehow, we always have it coming. And note also, that the complaints aren’t just about the possibility of having to rent out church space to gay people…something I would be against myself (but they don’t have a first amendment over there). They’re bellyaching about having to rent us rooms in hotels, or for that matter sell any goods and services at all to homosexuals.
Who would Jesus refuse to feed? Next time you hear one of these righteous people complaining that homosexuals are so mean and hateful, laugh in their face. If they had their way, we’d be living in cardboard boxes on steam grates, so they could be righteous.
January 19th, 2007 at 5:50 am
There were muslim taxidrivers in the same country who refused to take blind passengers with guide dogs, on the grounds that dogs are unclean. They were told (much to their chagrin) they could not do this under what I think is called the disability act. It’s a similar thing, really.
The rules passed the Lords, by the way:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6243323.stm
I like this quote:
‘But Labour’s Lord Smith said: “I am somewhat puzzled by the arguments that have been advanced.
“It seems to me, in my simplistic way, that what they (the opponents of the regulations) are arguing for is quite simply the right to discriminate and the right to harass.
“And those arguments are being made in the name of Christianity.” ‘
It’s cool that some people can still be surprised by that. ;) (Or at least act surprised.)
(I’m finally catching up with your blog again, hi!)