Brickbat: It's Only Fair

The Lexington, Kentucky, Human Rights Commission is investigating Hands-On Originals, a local t-shirt company, after it refused to print t-shirts for a gay rights organization because the group's message conflict's with the owner's Christian beliefs. City ordinance bans firms from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Brickbat Archive

Comments

[Bee Tagger]

So these specific people in the gay rights organization were gay? Can they prove the store owners knew this? Certainly seems possible they allow straight members in their "firm," lest they be found guilty of the same ordinance.

I could RTFA, but I'd rather have someone sarcastically reply to me and tell me this point was addressed already.

[jester]

Sorry missed opportunity. They should have printed up a thousand tees that said: 'Silly Faggots, Dicks are for Chicks', then claimed that they got the order mixed up with another organization that was protesting the gay parade. Then, they should have claimed that the original order got lost through incompetence. The legal burden of willful dicrimination rests on those suing. Good Luck with that.

I am not suggesting that I am not sympathetic with gays and lesbians. In fact I am sympathetic. Nonetheless, I have pointed out to my gay/lesbian friends that each of his/her rights is the same goddam right that I have or anyone else.

Prosecute your 'war' on your own personal rights as a human being not on forcing people who for whatever reason don't agree with you. If there existed a state law that proscribed you from getting your t-shirts printed, that's one thing. If a private business wants to eschew your business, take your business elsewhere. It's not a difficult rule to live by.

[Brutus]

Interim solution: Close up shop and move to 20' outside the Lexington city limits.

[WTF]

Of course the government can force you to engage in commerce with someone you would choose not to. As we've just seen, the government can make you do any damn thing it wants, what with the Constitution being nullified and all.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

COMMERCE CLAUSE TAX LAWZ, BITCHES!!

[anon]

How funny it'd be if it weren't so true. 🙁

[db]

So, clearly, a gay-owned business can be forced to produce anti-gay content for a bigoted customer.

[sage]

Ha, I'd love to test this.

[WTF]

Yes, and a minority-owned business can be forced to produce racist content for racist organizations, etc. But I somehow doubt the government would bother enforcing it; much like they refused to enforce laws against voter intimidation when the new black panthers were the perpetrators.

[sarcasmic]

Rule of Law means the law is applied equally regardless of who the actors are.

Rule of Man means the law is enforced differently depending on who the actors are.

Guess which one we live in.

[Elphie]

Rule of the Lawman!

[Elphie]

Or Rule of the Lawnmower Man.

[Brendan]

Rule of Top Men?

[sage]

I realize that on principle the business should be able to refuse to provide service for anyone. However, in the face of a state that doesn't want anyone's feelings hurt, it seems the better route is the passive aggressive one. Just take their order, tell them it will be 8-12 weeks, and when they ask where their shirts are, tell them "oops, I think your order got lost in the shuffle. Give us some more time..." etc., etc., and on and on until they give up.

[Suthenboy]

they would probably find another way to cause you grief. I was going to make a pun about how gays love to stir shit but....that is a little too obvious.

[Auric Demonocles]

Charge them a huge premium "because your shirt was so many colors on it".

[Suthenboy]

What is with the Sullum article before this one? No comments available....

Just finished watching the local morning news and the university president from Louisiana college in Pineville is ranting away, they have no intention of complying with obamacare even if they have to shut the school down.

[PS]

He's scared that his alt-text doesn't stack up.

Fuggedaboutit Jake, it's HitandRuntown.

[Pip from the forge]

Sullum article...No comments available

Same thing happened yesterday. I'd like to think he's embarrassed by the quality of commentary here, but I'm sure it's only a glitch.

[DJF]

Obviously Lexington needs to lead the nation in tax law by being the first to impose a "No Selling Tax", on anyone not selling to someone else. This will be a follow up to Judge Roberts "No Buy Tax" where anyone not buying is to be taxed.

Nobel Prize Winner Krugman will of course then demand a "No Break Window Tax" on anyone not breaking windows since not breaking windows hurts GDP

[PS]

Stop giving them ideas!!!!

[Suthenboy]

Heh. yeah DJF it looks like Roberts will now be the most vilified member of the Nazgul in our generation. I wasnt sure what to make of Roberts decision at first. Is the guy somehow putting a knife in the left in some way that I havent figured out yet?

Sometimes things arent what they appear to be, but most of the time they are. Fuck Roberts.

[Pagan Priestess]

I think Obama called Roberts up and informed them that he was on this week's Kill List.

[snakotanko]

Dude seems to know what he is talking about most of the tiem!

http://www.Mostly-Anon.tk

[Pip from the forge]

"I'm against discrimination, period," Mayor Gray said in a statement released to television station WKYT. "It's bad for business and bad for the city. I support capitalism, freedom of association and the Human Rights Commission in a full and thorough investigation."

I made some of that up.

[Brutus]

You all are going to be all about tolerance and inclusion, or else.

[Flemur]

It's good to know that there aren't any important civil rights violations occurring in KY, other than the Lexington, Kentucky, Human Rights Commission (WTF?!?) harassing some minding-his-own-business guy because of his religion.

[Mr. FIFY]

Pointless litigation. No one was hurt by this t-shirt company choosing its customer base.