Brickbat: The Right to Custom T-Shirts

In Kentucky, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission ruled Hand On Originals violated the city's fairness ordinance when it refused to print t-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival. The owners of Hand On said they declined the order because they are Christians and could not support the message of the shirts. But the commission ruled the firm discriminated against the Gay and Lesbians Services Organization of Lexington.

Comments

[Rev-Match]

13A. That is all.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Alas, the Supremes aren't on board with that:

"We find no merit in the remainder of appellant's contentions, including that of "involuntary servitude." As we have seen, 32 States prohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations. These laws but codify the common law innkeeper rule, which long predated the Thirteenth Amendment. It is difficult to believe that the Amendment was intended to abrogate this principle. Indeed, the opinion of the Court in the Civil Rights Cases is to the contrary as we have seen, it having noted with approval the laws of "all the States" prohibiting discrimination. We could not say that the requirements of the Act in this regard are in any way "akin to African slavery." Butler v. Perry, 240 U.S. 328, 332 (1916)."

http://www.law.cornell.edu/sup.....79_0241_ZO

[WTF]

Wow, that's a convoluted, flowery way to say Fuck You, That's Why.

[Rev-Match]

It is difficult to believe that the Amendment was intended to abrogate this principle.

Yea it sure is difficult to think that the amendment means exactly what it says.

We could not say that the requirements of the Act in this regard are in any way "akin to African slavery."

Irrelevant, as it outlaws slavery in general.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I can't believe the Westboro people haven't availed themselves of this or a similar ordinance to get a "Westboro Baptist Pride" T-shirt, cake, etc.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"20 years of picketing the funerals of Hell-bound soldiers, praise God!"

[Marktaylor]

Because refusing to serve them means being against discrimination also.

Leftists typically don't understand that they discriminate as much as the people they claim superiority over. And putting the gov in charge of which groups are protected or discriminated is authoritarianism.

[Wicked Skin]

Yeah but discriminating against those tea bagging rethuglicans and other non-right thinking people isn't discrimination discrimination, it's actually tolerance.

[invisible furry hand]

Hands On what?

[db]

Hand check!

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*whistle*

They are over the limit - two free throws.

[UnCivilServant]

Your wallet.

[Almanian!]

If it were Friday, I'd say

YOUR ASS!

*SLAP*

But it's Monday, so...I'll refrain.

[db]

Finally, a case that gets all the way down to freedom of the press. We have already established that freedom of association no longer is a viable right here; anyone care to wager on whether freedom of speech is subordinate to freedom of association?

I think the only given from now on is that the courts will continue to subordinate fundamental negative rights to less and less fundamental, more positive, rights. Then cases will chip away at those harder-to-defend positive rights, and voila! No rights at all, just the whim of the Crown.

[JW]

I think the only given from now on is that the courts will continue to subordinate fundamental negative rights to less and less fundamental, more positive, rights.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Bardas Phocas]

What could possibly go wrong?

I'm going to ask for that on my birthday cake.

And none shall deny me!

[db]

Beauty.

[SugarFree]

Yay! Lexington's in the news... Oh. Dammit.

[JW]

It's just like Skokie! Only gayer.

[SugarFree]

That's not fair! You're no fair. Unfairite!

[invisible furry hand]

Is "libertarian pervert" a protected class?

[SugarFree]

We couldn't get a Lexington Libertarian Pride Parade t-shirt printed either.

They said their minimum order was 5. 🙁

[JW]

Same phone booth as last year?

[SugarFree]

Of course. It's the last one in town.

[UnCivilServant]

We have phone booths without phones, and payphones without booths. I'm not sure how that happened, but I've seen people using their cell phones in the phone booths.

[invisible furry hand]

There are at least 5 libertarians in Lexington, surely. Next time you see some sensitive lonely chap, sidle up and discreetly ask if he's a Friend of Virginia.

[SugarFree]

I really don't want another solicitation charge.

[UnCivilServant]

I thought one more wouldn't make a difference for you.

[antisocial-ist]

Protected, no. Redundant, yes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The term 'you're a private enterprise and can do what you want' is no longer true anymore. I hear that a lot and tell they're on crack. The government lurks right behind me looking over my shoulders.

I don't get this every time I read such stories. These people are within their rights to do business with who ever they choose. And the people aggrieved should just move on to the next place of business as some of us argued in the past with similar examples - ie bakers and wedding cakes for gay marriages.

[WTF]

You're not truly free unless you can force others to labor on your behalf.

[Wicked Skin]

Get back into the kitchen and bake me my damn cake. NOW!

[Free Society]

Freedom means enslaving everyone around you.

[Brendan]

I can't help but wonder if there isn't a friendly (to the cause) business in the same town that has supported them from the beginning and would be happy to make their t-shirts, cakes, etc. if given the chance.

[Paul.]

I live in a decidedly left-progressive town. I wonder if I could walk into a cake/teeshirt place and ask them to do something for a big gun control rally I'm thinking of having.

[MegaloMonocle]

Brendan, the point is getting t-shirts or cakes or wedding ceremonies.

The point is punishing their enemies. These activists will go past dozens of friendly establishments to find one where they can put the jackboot in.

[Brendan]

Which makes it all the more absurd.

There's undoubtedly at least one business owner who contributed to the various initiatives, etc. to legalize/fight bans on gay marriage, who supports the various groups that fight for it, etc. and now sees the types of customers he supports and would be glad to have fighting to force a competitor to take their money instead.

[MegaloMonocle]

The fact that they never had to go to court to get friendly business owners to do business with them is a clue that they went to court, not to get service from someone, anyone, but solely in order to put the boot into their enemies.

[userve32]

Tat makes a lot of sense dude.

http://www.anon-way.tk

[UnCivilServant]

Wrong article to use that one on, AnonBot.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

jsut roll with the beautiful bean footage

[Marshall Gill]

There is a natural, human right to force people to do business with you. It is right there next to the human right for the government to recognize and provide benefits for personal relationships.

Can't find someone to "marry" gay or straight? No, problem, you can subsidize people who can! What could be more equal?! Talk about FYTW!

[Seamus]

Since we're talking about compelled speech, wouldn't Woolney v. Maynard be on point: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/.....0&page=705

[Brendan]

The irony in being denied the freedom to cover up the slogan "Live Free or Die"

[Richard Fitzwell]

It is just plain business stupidity to not accept an order that you can fill. Just stupid. (You do run it to make money, yes?)

These days the enforcers of the Gay Mafia (Adam Carolla; http://is.gd/d84CT6) come to a store to demand their acceptance. "Nice business you got here. Be a shame if you got a Human Rights Commission violation." They use The State to club non-conformists into equality nirvana.

The simplest answer, for business owners, when faced with dubious fairness laws, is to price custom goods?T-Shirts, Cakes, whatever?higher than market rates. If you don't want to do the job, price yourself out of the market. It will make advertising more difficult since rates will not be firm, as they are priced per order. But if you are that dedicated to being business stupid, it would be a small step.

Also, if these are christian business owners, don't they believe God loves everyone? "Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner"?

http://wp.me/p31sf8-1e4

[MegaloMonocle]

Richard, all perfectly valid points.

That any business owner should be free to disagree with. And that's the real point.

You aren't free unless you are free to be wrong.

[Paul.]

This shit really is just becoming about punishing your opposition. And what if this outfit refuses? Does it then become jailing your opposition?

[Richard Fitzwell]

Paul, This http://is.gd/ciuVq6
"Anti-gay Oregon bakery faces $150,000 fine for refusing service to lesbian couple"

fine, if not paid, means that eventually men with guns will come to get you.

[perlhaqr]

It would be interesting, indeed, to see actual Christian Martyrs being made on American soil. I fear the backlash would be vastly unpleasant, though.