Two news stories have been in my news feed recently, each pushing a pro-discrimination sentiment  to differing degrees. The first deals with the Oregon bakers who have been fined lots of money for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The linked story is from The Blaze:

Gay rights organizations are responding in a variety of ways after Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the Sweetcakes by Melissa bakery, sent cakes and letters out to numerous LBGT groups in an effort to deliver what the Kleins contend was a powerful message about faith and freedom.

The cakes are decorated, and say, “We really do love you.”

The big problem, is that love was never the issue. Equal treatment for all patrons by a commercial business was the issue, and the Kleins want to pursue their pro-discrimination intention by invoking “love.” Because you know… love wins.  (Oh how I hate that catch phrase.)

This may not sound like a big deal, but it really is. The goal of such efforts are to shift the playing field away from the real issue of fairness and abiding by the law (Oregon has a state-wide ban on discrimination based on many things including sexual orientation) and even some LGBTQ groups are falling for it, including Michael Dimengo, CEO of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. He is quoted:

1. “I think it takes a lot for folks to reach out to the other side of the fence. I credit them for doing that.”

2. … he appreciates the cake and letter as a positive gesture from the Kleins.Dimengo, who said that he owes the couple a “thank you” for sending the cake, stressed the importance that he sees in having both sides of the homosexuality debate sit down to discuss their beliefs in a calm and collected manner.

There you have it, the issue has been shifted. The issue isn’t homosexuality, but the requirement that all businesses follow the law. There is no “two sides of the fence” about it, unless it is law abiding and law breaking. As an aside, I think he is right to send a thank-you note for the cake, even if he misses the issues entirely. (In his defense, I’m not sure he does miss the real issues, only that these small quotes of him are limited in their scope.)

The quote of Melissa Klein herself demonstrates this sleight of hand:

“I was really excited to get a couple of responses. I was really surprised,” she said. “My thoughts were, ‘Okay, it’s probably going to get thrown in the garbage.’ … It was really exciting. I’m just really hoping that we can kind of open up a dialogue and be able to talk.”

Why doesn’t Melissa simply serve gay and lesbian couples the same way she would serve any other couple, and talk to them in the same way she talks to anyone? That would be a change that would benefit everyone. Even the sentiment–that the cake would be thrown in the garbage is questionable. A couple wanted a wedding cake from them, remember?  Klein paints the problem as a lack of communication, rather than her unwillingness to serve the public without discrimination.

The second story, related in a way is about Ted Cruz, who suggested a gay baker ought to be able to discriminate against a Christian customer. While not as manipulative as the Klein’s scheme, it is actually more problematic due to the disingenuous quality of it. Cruz is pushing hard for the far right religious vote, so to suggest that discrimination against religious people is all right, is quite a thing. The linked story is from Gay Star Business:

‘Imagine if there were a gay florist – now I know that’s hard to imagine, a gay florist – but just go with the hypo[thetical] for a second.’

‘Imagine if two evangelical Christians came to a gay florist and they wanted to get married, and the florist said, “You know what? I disagree with your faith. I have problems with your faith.”

‘You have no entitlement to force that florist to provide flowers at the Christians’ wedding. We are a pluralistic nation that tolerates diversity.’

In reality, a florist many not discriminate anywhere because religion is a protected class ( a technical point, Cruz either is unaware of, or chooses to forget. His point is to make discrimination seem like a normal part of living in a diverse society. He also wants to plant the seed that gay persons want to discriminate, as much as conservatives do, which is the real lie here.

LGBTQ persons have been florists and hair dressers and bakers and al sorts of service professions forever, and they have always just gone about doing business, and treating customers as well, customers. A dollar is a dollar.