Religion no excuse for discrimination

To the editor:

I'm no biblical scholar, but I'm pretty sure nowhere in the Bible does it say 'Go forth, open a bakery, and deny your services to gays and lesbians.” And even if it did, your religious liberty doesn't allow you to discriminate in matters of public service. If you run a business, that business is dependent upon public investment: roads to move yourself, your employees and your product, police and fire protection, the court system, sewage and electrical service, public parking, sidewalks. The list could go on and on.

And who pays for all these public services? All of us, gay or straight. Because your business relies on all these public services to operate, it means that you don't have a right to pick and choose who you do business with. In other words, you don't get to discriminate.

These same religious liberty arguments were used to deny services to blacks and African Americans before the various civil rights acts of the 1960s. But only the most libertarian and racist among us would argue that businesses have a right to deny services to someone based on race. And for the same reasons we cannot deny services to someone based on their sexual orientation.

If you're so committed to your religious liberty that you can't provide your products or services to same-sex couples wanting to wed, then close your business and find another line of work. The public and its financial investment will be better for it.

Wesley Shirley

Cedar Rapids