In Gay-bashing or Clean Energy, Let Stupidity Run Its Course
A friend sent me this piece on a new Kansas law that enables its citizens to deny service to gay people if such service runs counter to “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
He writes: “My perspective on this travesty:
“Separation of church and state is separation of church and state. That’s why it’s specifically stipulated within our Constitution that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
“Freedom of religion means freedom of religion for everyone – that includes the birthright of employees and customers to be free from the religion of others being enforced upon them, under pain of reproach or deprivation, or in any other manner.
“Also, equality under the law means equality under the law. The 14th Amendment – Section One – states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
“One may govern one’s own behavior by their own “sincerely held religious beliefs” in their own conduct within their personal lives.
“One may not use their own “sincerely held religious beliefs” to govern the personal lives of others, nor to enforce their beliefs upon employees or customers in a place of business, nor on any basis to refuse any person the equal consideration normally due any other citizen with regard to any public transaction or setting.
“This proposed Kansas legislation is little more than a childish attempt to sanction sandbox bullying under the color of law.”
I agree. Further, it doesn’t seem to be very well thought-out, even by Kansas’ meager standards. Police, firefighters, and EMTs can deny citizens services whose job is to protect life and property if those citizens are even suspected of being gay? Holy smokes. Sorry, but that’s not going to work in the 21st Century, regardless of how bigoted and stupid you are. To find thinking on that level, you’d have to go back 325 years to Salem Massachusetts.
I also agree with your numerous well-made points about constitutional law. The Mormons are finding this out the hard way with their polygamy. When little girls, perhaps 80 pounds, barely teenagers, are forced into marriage, the courts, quite correctly I believe, are ruling that this is statutory rape, regardless of the perpetrator’s “sincere religious beliefs.”
Having said this, I have to agree with the author of the article linked above; it’s an ironic truth that letting Kansas pass this extremely hateful and indefensible law will actually bring an end to this type of stupidity faster than fighting against it. I’m guessing that 90% of our world today openly ridicules stuff like this, and an ever-increasing number of the other 10% has enough intelligence and common decency to tell Kansas to knock it off.
I’m reminded of (frequent commenter and extremely senior energy analyst from WindFuels) Glenn Doty’s remarks on my articles blasting U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his outrageous conflict of interest vis-à-vis the oil companies. Inhofe raises over 80% of his campaign financing from the oil industry, and, not surprisingly, his contributions to law-making are focused almost exclusively on eliminating any possibility of success for biofuels and other forms of renewable energy. Glenn says, and I’m sure he’s right, that the presence of flagrantly criminal idiots (my words, not his) like Inhofe does far more to damage rather than to support their positions.
