Who is being bullied?

Michigan Radio has done a series (is doing? -- don't know if there is another part coming) on gay rights issues in Michigan. Yesterday's segment was on housing discrimination. Yes, it is still legal in Michigan to refuse to sell or rent housing to a gay person. In cities with such laws gay people don't always know they are supposed to be protected. The laws are rarely enforced. So landlords, real estate agents, and bankers assume (mostly correctly) they can discriminate as they please.

Some cases do come to light because the members of the Fair Housing Center pose as (or really are) gay or lesbian couples and ask to rent or buy a home to see the reaction of the parties involved.

Today's segment boiled down to something simple: Legislators have been refusing to include gay people in the state's civil rights laws because that would mean that gays would "bully Christians."

It was fine weather in Michigan today, so I pondered this issue on my morning bike ride (I was on my bike!). Is that an accurate claim? Yes. There is a case in Washington state where a florist is being prosecuted for refusing to provide flowers for a gay wedding. Washington does include gays in their civil rights law and the law is much older than their marriage equality law.

Isn't it absurd to think that Christians feel bullied considering what gays have gone through -- and usually at the hands of Christians (or those inspired by Christian teaching)? Yes. But a round of Oppression Olympics isn't all that useful.

Are Christians violating some of their basic teachings when they refuse to provide services for gays? A qualified yes. They are violating the commandments about loving your neighbor and that one should refrain from judging. I would say they even misinterpret their doctrine when they say vile things about gays.

But, alas, the doctrine of some Christian denominations (the ones that would describe us as bullying them) do strongly condemn homosexuality. And they see providing flowers for a gay wedding to be equivalent to being accomplices of a nasty crime. Why should they do that?

Isn't this reasoning used to deny rights to gay people the same reason used to support Jim Crow laws in the South? Yes.

I enjoyed the rest of my ride -- lots of flowering trees and shrubs in full color -- before showering and meeting my friend and debate partner for lunch. He made short work of my rambling thinking. Yup, same reasoning used against blacks, Jews, Native Americans, Irish, Asians … the list goes on. The law is quite settled. If you open a business you are a public entity and must accommodate all of the public. This demand that businesses must not discriminate is one of the bright lights of our country.