Harold's Left:


The Catholic Church in D.C. is trying to stonewall the city council to support it's stance that discrimination gainst gays is the right thing to do. This Tuesday, the council rejected an amendment that would have essentially said that individuals involved in the wedding industry (ie, cake makers, caterers, etc) could refuse service to gays because of their own personal religious beliefs. This decision comes right before a decision next week by the council on whether any entity receiving government funds can discriminate against gays. The Catholic Church's argument is that these amendments are an intrusion on religious freedom and consequently the Church has threatened to end social and homeless programs that aid thousands of D.C. residents. Susan Gibbs, speaking for the Church, stated "If the city requires this, we can't do it... The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem." It is a problem indeed, because for the Catholic Church to be taking 8.2 million dollars in city funds over the last several years, it seems to have no issue taking 'secular' money.

The one councilwoman who seems to be pressing for discrimination had this to say, "Lets say an individual caterer is a staunch Christian and someone wants him to do a cake with two grooms on top. Why can't they say, based on their religious beliefs, 'I can't do something like that'?" That's an easy answer; because it violates nearly every civil rights law of the last half century.

During the 50's and 60's when civil rights were being argued in everywhere from the courts, to the schools, to the Congress; the primary argument of those who opposed integration was that it violated a private business owner's right to individual liberty to say that an individual or business cannot provide services to whomever it wants. Which would also mean it could deny services as well. This flawed reasoning was struck down ultimately because it was determined that any business or other entity that is open to the public as a whole, cannot deny service to various groups based on individual bias. Some business that has it's doors open on Main street to whomever walks in, cannot then say to a black person or a gay person, "we won't serve you". What's more is that an entity receiving federal funds, like the Catholic Church in D.C., certainly should not be able to discriminate against citizens. The council seems poised to largely ignore the Catholic Church's blackmail and move the cause of equality forward. Many of the councilmembers have commented that the church has proved to be "childish" and that they will not succumb to the threats imposed by it.

The Catholic Church certainly has the right to not believe in gay marriage, or even gay equality. However, when they receive funds from the city, they are acting on its behalf, and in that sense its obsession with discrimination is illegal and intolerable. After the defeat in Maine by popular vote on an issue that should be upheld by the constitution and not individual bigotry, the city of Washington's probable enactment of this law is a bright spot in the ongoing movement to make gays full and equal citizens of this nation.

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