Melchior wrote:Companies go out of business all the time, and new ones start, for all kinds of reasons. But if I don't want to serve a customer I don't have to. That's what freedom is.
And if the masses don't want you to have a business, then you won't, that's what freedom is! Then they won't let you work for anyone else, because that's what freedom is, then they won't let you drink or eat because that's what freedom is! No they won't let you sleep in a cardboard box under an expressway overpass, because that's what freedom is. Perceived power, the mind killer!
That's true, but so what? It's the free market making itself felt, which is all I want. I am going to start a wedding photography business and refuse to serve anyone. That'll fix 'em!
Melchior wrote:It is considered perfectly proper for a customer to patronize one business and not another, for any reason whatsoever. Is this not true? If I don't like one place, or it is inconvenient, I am perfectly free to go to another, and no-one would think anything about it. Why are you so aghast at the concept that if I don't want you as a customer I have the right to refuse to serve you?
Where the law goes wrong is that it drags religion into it. There should be no conditions whatsoever. If I don't want to do business with you, I don't have to. No justification needed.
Just like people are free to band together and boycott your business, thus putting you out of it; synonymous with you putting some people out of their convenience of doing business with you. And where does one draw the line, the ignorance of ignorance. Are people really that bored and or ignorant?
Nothing personal, but the concern and question is of small minded people. Nietzsche and Machiavelli would smile of course.
Yes, you are perfectly free to patronize whomever you prefer, for any reason (hours, friendly staff, location, etc.). But the same thing works both ways in a free country.
There has been a lot of confusion about "allowing" gays to marry. The problem is the various senses of "can". A marriage cannot be contracted between two members of the same sex because that is not a "marriage". Marriage is inherently between members of the opposite sex. That's what it is for. It establishes a "relationship" equal to kinship between members of the opposite sex who are not kin. It establishes a relationship like that of father-son, mother-daughter, brother-sister. To me it makes no sense to "forbid" what is impossible. Oh yes, you could have a ceremony, but it isn't a marriage at all.
There is no confusion. The government calls it 'marriage' in the laws passed:
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maryland since January 1, 2013. In 2012, the state's Democratic representatives, led by Governor Martin O'Malley, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the General Assembly (Maryland's bicameral legislature, composed of the Senate and House of Delegates) in February 2012 and signed on March 1, 2012. The law took effect on January 1, 2013 after 52.4% of voters approved a statewide referendum held on November 6, 2012. The vote was hailed as a watershed moment by gay rights activists and marked the first time marriage rights in the United States have been extended to same-sex couples by popular vote.[1]
You can refuse to call it 'marriage,' but when the government gives you a 'Marriage Certificate' you can't tell the couple that they are somehow confused when they call their relationship 'marriage.'
Melchior wrote:Companies go out of business all the time, and new ones start, for all kinds of reasons. But if I don't want to serve a customer I don't have to. That's what freedom is.
And if the masses don't want you to have a business, then you won't, that's what freedom is! Then they won't let you work for anyone else, because that's what freedom is, then they won't let you drink or eat because that's what freedom is! No they won't let you sleep in a cardboard box under an expressway overpass, because that's what freedom is. Perceived power, the mind killer!
That's true, but so what? It's the free market making itself felt, which is all I want. I am going to start a wedding photography business and refuse to serve anyone. That'll fix 'em!
No, it'll fix you, and that's the price of wielding a double edged sword. Better to wield a feather!
You can refuse to call it 'marriage,' but when the government gives you a 'Marriage Certificate' you can't tell the couple that they are somehow confused when they call their relationship 'marriage.'
So what? All kinds of idiotic things that happen all the time. Take the Supreme Court...please.
