So this morning, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 7 to 2 that a cake baker in Colorado did not have to make a wedding cake for a gay couple because it violated his religious beliefs.
A couple of things struck me about this ruling. The first of which it was 7 to 2. Two justices did not find in favor of the Colorado cake baker. One major news provider called this a narrow margin. These folks obviously graduated with Common Core Math because that does not seem like a narrow margin to me. 5 to 4 would be a narrow margin. Then again, I had the old school math. Line up the decimal points, add the columns and carry the tens. Pretty basic. Memorize your multiplication tables and you will go far in life.......but I digress.
Here is another thing that bothers me about this case. This couple was not denied service. The baker offered to sell them anything that was already made, he just could not in his good conscience, design a cake for something he felt went against his religious beliefs. He has a history of not designing Halloween cakes as well. What does one have to do with the other? Many Christians choose not to celebrate Halloween. So, this guy is already on the record as a fundamentalist, for lack of a better term. The town knows how he feels. He's not denied service to anyone in the past. Someone comes in, they want to buy something ready made, not a problem. Here you go. Take the money, give the treat, go along your merry way. Everyone is happy.
Now you have this couple, who wants one of this guy's cakes to celebrate a marriage, which at that time is not legal in the state of Colorado. They have to fly clear across the country to get married in Massachusetts, then come back to Colorado to have their reception. I get it. The guy makes amazing cakes. They are to die for, and they really want a cake to celebrate their union. They are refused a custom cake. They are not refused a cake, they are refused a custom cake. Wouldn't that be the same as me, a Baptist woman, walking into a Halal deli and demanding they make me a ham sandwich? Wouldn't the owner of this deli have the right to refuse me that sandwich because it goes against their religious belief? I can have any other sandwich in the deli. I am not being denied service, I just can't have that one thing. Do I run to the Human Rights Commission and register a complaint because this deli won't make me a ham sandwich? I mean, seriously.
I understand, there is a history of persecution in the world. But I also understand, that we, as a people, have grown and learned (supposedly) from this history.
I know that I am going to upset and probably offend some with this post. I get that. But before you call me names, understand, that I do my best to treat everyone the same. I don't care who you are, what God you worship (or if you don't worship). I don't care if you are black, white, brown, red, yellow, purple, or green around the gills. I also don't care if you are gay, straight, whatever. I accept you for who you are. I am also adult enough to understand that I am not always going to get everything that I want. And I might just have to walk across the street to get that ham sandwich.
