Wilmington High School Muckrakers: Abuse of the First Amendment

Imagine a heterosexual couple entering a store that specializes in creating cakes for weddings. They request service and are tended to immediately without question. Moments later a homosexual couple walks in and asks for the same wedding cake, but they get turned down. Both ask for the same product, but one pair is denied due to the person they wish to marry. Envision the baker stating he is unable to sell a cake to a gay couple because doing so it would contradict his religious beliefs. While every American citizen is granted the right to free speech, some people abuse this power in order to discriminate against others. In Colorado, the baker did not face the repercussions of discrimination. Therefore the rights of any person, gay or straight, should be federally protected.

The skirmish between Jack Phillips and a gay couple is a now notorious story. This controversial case came to an end in 2017 with the Supreme Court ruling in the favor of Phillips. In several other places across the country, there are instances where a same-sex couple has been refused service. Whether this discrimination is based on the employee’s intolerant mentality or something else is difficult to discern. Nonetheless, some of these business owners claim that it is their first amendment right to refuse service on the basis of their religious beliefs. Freedom of religion should not interfere with one’s routine. To deny a customer of a right is an abuse of the first amendment’s power. On June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. While this was a huge accomplishment for gay rights advocates, it necessarily was not the end of the battle. Hate towa

rds LGBT people remains current, despite having laws protecting them from discrimination. There are currently public accommodations, which prohibit discrimination on sexual orientation, present in 21 states including the District of Columbia but the other states do not have one active. And according to The Harris Poll, 55% of members within the LGBT community have reported being discriminated against even with these laws active.

The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 condemns discrimination which it defines as “the humiliation, frustration, and embarrassment that a person must surely feel when he is told that he is unacceptable as a member of the public because of his race or color.“ Today discrimination is applicable to one's sexual orientation. Using the first amendment as an excuse to not serve someone does not immediately disregard the possible discrimination taking place. Expressing religious beliefs can be acceptable when it is not promoting hate, although covering prejudice can be as simple as deeming the refusal as a violation of one’s faith. Because of this, these reasons can not always be credible. No one is open about being intolerant, no one wants to be seen as a bigot. They purely use false justifications to disprove their own bigotry.

The main purpose of most religions is to make oneself feel whole, to achieve the goal of salvation. Is it considerate to spend some of that time promoting hate toward certain groups? Religion is primarily about acceptance. The workers that claim making the product for a same-sex couple is a violation of their beliefs are not participating in the activities they do not agree with. All they are doing is fulfilling the request of a customer, who is willing to spend their earnings on the worker’s creation. Those who declare that the harmless manufacture of an item strips them of their beliefs are not the one being stripped of a right. They are the ones stripping the dignity of the couples they refuse, the equal rights every person is entitled to. Therefore, public accommodation laws should be existent in each state in the U.S. Protecting each and every same-sex couple from discrimination that prevents them from doing a basic activity heterosexual couples are able to take part in.

The years following the landmark decision that legalized gay marriage, same-sex couples continue to be discriminated against. No one should have to experience the feeling of belittlement even after such a battle. Equality should not be stunted by people who claim the couple’s request affects their religion. To try and put a stop to this blatant prejudice, state accommodation laws forbidding intolerance towards someone’s sexual orientation should be enacted in all states. It is unfair for one group to be turned down while the other is given the right immediately. Even after all of the hard work, the war against hate is not over.