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

a reply to: kaylaluv

In particular, the job market. Where do you draw the line that employers do not have the right to hire and fire who they please? That could lead to a big loss in productivity.

I have heard that in Japan, it is difficult for a 30 something woman with no children to find gainful employment because the companies know that she will likely be chemically bound to taking time off for pregnancy in the near future since she had not had her children yet traditionally.

Here in the west people from other countries see this big loophole where, come time for pregnancy the couple will seek employment for the woman that extends her the best maternity benefits.

Japan and the west compete for market share and Japan is is allowing it's corporations to exercise the right to make their business more productive with less time wasted.

Japan has a big leg up and I do not believe it took any sort of legislation.

a reply to: MALBOSIA

Personally defending the right of corporations who already get away with murder, abuse, and mistreatment of the entire world's populace is the lowest of the low, so really not gonna get any support from me there.

Let me just reiterate that I hold everyone to the same standard.

I don't care how strongly a gay person might feel that Christians are evil - if a gay baker refused to sell a cake for a Christian wedding that he would sell to anyone else - it's discrimination and shouldn't be allowed.

I don't care how strongly a Christian might feel that gay marriage is a horrible sin - if a Christian baker refused to sell a cake for a gay wedding that he would sell to anyone else - it's discrimination and shouldn't be allowed.

When it comes to equal treatment under the law - emotions and beliefs and feelings need to be taken out of the equation. I don't mean you aren't allowed to have those emotions and beliefs and feelings. You just can't act on them when it comes to equal treatment under the law.

a reply to: Puppylove

When my Muslim friends come over to my house, I don't eat bacon in front of them.

Why?

Respect for their beliefs.

Now I love bacon, I could eat it every day. I think everyone should enjoy bacon, but I don't eat it, serve it, make it in front of people who would be offended by it simply because I respect their beliefs.

I don't demand that they accept my love of bacon. I don't force them to eat it, nor do I force them to even witness it being eaten or made.

When I go to their house, I don't demand that bacon be served. Even though I love bacon, and would like to eat it at every opportunity, I don't demand it because I respect their beliefs.

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: MALBOSIA

How does fighting discrimination mean the same thing as socialism or communism? Are you saying that discrimination must be allowed in a democratic republic?

I just realized that a simple answer to your question would be that in a free market, those businesses that shrink their pool of talent to choose from will find themselves "corrected" OUT of their chosen market.

I happen to work for a business that is run by members of a religious group that you must be born into. They have recently come to the conclusions that I have just mentioned and are about to do some serious ass kicking. Best of both worlds. They figured it out, adapted to be less discriminate and were rewarded with success.

a reply to: MALBOSIA

Oh, well companies making more profit is so much more important than women being discriminated against. I suppose you are okay with child labor as well? It's cheap and provides oh so much more profit to the companies.

originally posted by: Puppylove
a reply to: MALBOSIA

Personally defending the right of corporations who already get away with murder, abuse, and mistreatment of the entire world's populace is the lowest of the low, so really not gonna get any support from me there.

I get that. I am known for my anti corporation views. But for gods sakes if your going to do it, do it right!

a reply to: beezzer

That's not even comparable, try again. Your home is not a public service, and they don't advertise that they serve bacon. If your house was a public establishment and you advertised that you served bacon with breakfast, and then a muslim showed up, is another customer disrespecting the muslim by eating bacon at your establishment that serves bacon and eggs? No of course not, it's silly.

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: MALBOSIA

Oh, well companies making more profit is so much more important than women being discriminated against. I suppose you are okay with child labor as well? It's cheap and provides oh so much more profit to the companies.

If the consumer is ok with child labour...

Do away with capitalism then! Nanny state for everyone!!!

originally posted by: darkbake
The tricky thing is, religious people want to have the right to discriminate against and ruin the lives of those they don't agree with. They don't understand the concept of this being intrusive.

It is my experience that many Christians, especially those in congress, don't understand the concept of living how Jesus taught them to live.

Jesus taught that it's best love and serve others, regardless of their choices or circumstances. These politicians use their positions to attempt to mold society into what they perceive to be best, according to their own beliefs.

It's very selfish and self-serving.

a reply to: Puppylove

So respect has no place in the free market.

Businesses can treat the customer with no respect and the customer can treat the business with no respect.

Like I've stated, respect is dead.

There is none anymore.

Only extremist ideology, only "my way or the highway".

If you don't treat any other entity with respect, then by GOD! don't even think of DEMANDING it from anyone else.

a reply to: beezzer

You can be polite to each other. You don't have to respect each other's "lifestyles". You don't go into business to respect someone else's "lifestyle". You go into business to make money. You sell a product or service to make money. A customer doesn't go into a store to buy respect for their "lifestyle". A customer goes into a store to purchase a product or service. If a customer goes into a store and is not breaking any laws or disrupting the store's business, then that customer deserves to purchase what the owner is selling. (I put lifestyle in quotes, because being gay is not a lifestyle - it is a sexual orientation)

a reply to: kaylaluv

I'll respect only those that offer the same.

Obviously, if you willingly go into a business that is owned and operated by individuals that hold a belief that runs contrary to your beliefs/lifestyle/orientation, then you are not respecting the owner and therefor require no respect in return.

Sure, you can DEMAND that they serve you. And if they don't, they will be punished by the law. But I don't see a hint of respect in demanding that they serve you when you willingly KNEW that they'd have an issue with it.

To get respect, first you have to give it. But respect is dead.

RIP

a reply to: MALBOSIA

Let's do it your way then. Let's kill, torture or steal from anyone we want! Don't need no nanny state telling us we can't! Everyone free to do whatever you want to whomever you want to get what you want! Yippee!

a reply to: beezzer

And if you are willing to operate a business that is open to the general public, then you need to familiarize yourself with and be willing to operate according to the laws associated with operating that business. If you aren't willing or able to do that, then maybe you need another line of work.

a reply to: beezzer

I been reading and you know what beezzer, in todays world and todays America law makers has destroyed anything that makes a distinction between respect and been polite in the name of pursuing the meaning of tolerance.

This bill revoking makes no sense as we already have federal laws that protects discrimination, base on gender, sex, religion and political affiliations.

This is all about politics and playing with the feelings of voters. now that we are nearing national elections.

a reply to: beezzer

What you're demanding isn't respect, not even close to it. It's the right to discriminate. Which is as far from respect as you can get. A public business is by it's very nature public. It's not your home, it's not your private domicile, it not your private possession, it's a public accommodation you choose to partake in for personal profit and gains. To enter into your business, you sign contracts with the state giving you a license to run your business, part of that process involves signing a contract to not discriminate based on sex, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity/race. Which every business owner must sign.

What you're demanding is to throw all social progress out the window, to rip up every business contract with the government, and to take us all the way back to Jim Crow with seperate but "equal" which is far from respect.

Respect is everyone having the same rights, not picking and choose who has what rights, when and where. You're not being disrespectful by going into a public business and expecting to be served same as everyone else. You are being disrespectful when however, you choose to close your public establishment to someone for no fault of their own. We're not talking breaking your products, stripping in your store, starting fights, or being belligerent, we're talking having the nerve to exist and breathe the same air as you, that's it.

I can go into a Christian owned bakery and demand they make a cake saying, "Hail Satan".

I can go into a LGBT owned bakery and demand they make a cake saying, "Gays go to hell".

I can go into a black owned bakery and demand they make a cake saying, "Hail KKK".

I can go into a Muslim owned bakery and demand they make a cake with a picture of their prophet on it.

And that's what we'll see.

Disrespect breeds disrespect.

originally posted by: marg6043
a reply to: beezzer

I been reading and you know what beezzer, in todays world and todays America law makers has destroyed anything that makes a distinction between respect and been polite in the name of pursuing the meaning of tolerance.

This bill revoking makes no sense as we already have federal laws that protects discrimination, base on gender, sex, religion and political affiliations.

This is all about politics and playing with the feelings of voters. now that we are nearing national elections.

It's divisive politics that'll only breed more divisiveness.

More Us vs Them.

And the more laws that negate respect and polite civil discourse, the more "need" for a controlling, dictatorial government.

Frankly if you can't respect the rights of the public, you have no business having a public business in the first place. If you are so bigoted in your views that you cannot treat all clientele that come through your door equally so long as they do no harm and act in a respectful manner making no demands not advertised by your business, nor acting in a belligerent and disrespectful manner (which asking for the services you advertise is not disrespectful.) Then you should never have started your business in the first place. You should have read the contract you signed for your business license and realized, running a business was not for you.

People demanding people follow the laws, and uphold the agreement that they willingly signed and agreed to, is not disrespect.