Washington Republicans Hope To Legalize Discrimination Against Gay Couples

Out there in Washington, where marriage equality is legal, there are a group of twelve Republican state senators in Washington who want to make discrimination legal, too; I mean, if the discrimination is geared toward The Gays, that is.

It all began when Barronelle Stutzman decided to tell her longtime gay clients that she would not create flower arrangements for their wedding because the Baby Jeebus told her to be mean to The Gays.

Well, the story went viral—in fact, I wrote about it HEREand HERE—and then Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Stutzman for discrimination. In response, Republican state Senator Sharon Brown, along with 11 other of the 23 Republicans in the Washington state Senate, have decided to legalize discrimination against gay and lesbian couples by passing Senate Bill 5927. But, they don’t want folks to discriminate against The Gays just because the Baby Jeebus says so, they say their bill not only covers religious exceptions, but will allow discrimination based on “philosophical beliefs” or even “matters of conscience.”

Senator Sharon Brown

The bill says, in part:

“The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, philosophical belief, or matter of conscience may not be burdened unless the government proves that it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest.”

The bill also notes that it does not allow the denial of services to anyone considered a protected class under federal law; race, religion and disability are all protected classes under federal law, but LGBT people are not.

So, they’re basically saying that since The Gays are not a class of people protected against discrimination, then, well, just go ahead and do it. But, let’s be clear, if say race and religion weren’t protected classes, imagine Barronelle Stutzman denying service to a Black couple or a Baptists couple.

Would you find that acceptable? And if you would, and you’re a business owner, please put signs in your windows saying ‘Straights Only’ so I know which stores to avoid.

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