FROM INDIANA TO ARKANSAS...I am impressed!

Well this RELIGIOUS LIBERTY LEGISLATION has taken on a life of its own; this time in Arkansas.

Here again the blow back has been so intense that the governor who said he was definitely going to sign the bill had to back down and ask for added language that would absolutely say that it does not allow discrimination against gays based on a person’s religious views which it does so WTF?

What is making those governors and legislatures take notice is that the blow-back is coming as an ECONOMIC threat to that state, which no one wants. In this case Arkansas is home to WAL-MART and what WAL-MART wants, WAL-MART gets and WAL-MART does not like this bill at all.

All this hubbub has made me take a closer look at this issue.

When taking a look at this issue in a sane, logical and calm manner, one can see some logic on both sides of the issue.

We all agree that we do not like being forced to do something we really don’t want to and using the wedding cake example again, the baker did not mind making them a cake just not a wedding cake so, the reasoning goes, go to a different baker who does not mind making a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Is the baker discriminating against the gay couple? Yes he is but in a free society one should not be compelled to go against one’s conscience when there are other options available to the gay couple.

The problem here is that the state wants to “legalize” the baker’s right to refuse gays and I think here is where the rub is; the state wants to allow discrimination based on religion.

Is there a need for this law? I don’t think so. I feel current laws on the books prevent egregious cases of discrimination on many levels.

This matter should be left to the free market system; if you don’t want to serve gays, they will go somewhere else to spend their money. If a state is perceived as anti-gay, it could really suffer economically as rich and educated gays stay the hell out of states like that.

I am quite amazed at the public’s reaction to these so called RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACTS. It is just uncanny how fast word of this issue spreads throughout the country but I guess it makes sense with our new digital age of instant information and instant chatter among millions of people.

I think this makes democracy a lot more democratic when so many people are engaged in debating public policy.

I think we can all see the “sea-change” that is occurring in this country especially when it comes to social issues. I think some religions will buck the trend (Catholicism) while others will embrace it and run with it.

I think the reaction to this one issue has slapped those conservative Republicans who want to remain living in the dark ages, right smack upside their heads and made them sit up and notice. I also feel that Americans in general have seen what a determined public can do and maybe they will start using this power to stand up for what they believe.

Others will see this as CONSUMER BLACKMAIL which really means people vote with their shopping dollars and it is their right to do so. In the past, religious nuts urged their like thinking brethren not to shop at places that went against their religious beliefs. Now the same thing is happening but from the other side.

PS.          You will hear from the people trying to pass these laws saying that they are only following a “federal” law signed by President Clinton a few years back. Well if a federal law exists protecting religious freedoms why are you writing a new one?

Anyway, that law addressed a specific case where two American Indians were denied unemployment after being fired from their jobs for smoking dope; turns out that they smoked PEYOTE as part of their religious ceremonies which are hundreds if not thousands of years old. I hope you see the difference in what that law tried to achieve.