Indiana's Governor, Mike Pence, is under fire with their recently-passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Under the guise of protecting one's First Amendment right of freedom of religion (wait, I thought that right was protected under that amendment already?)... the underlying context of Indiana's law is directed at two private parties (landlords, corporations, persons, groups, churches, businesses, etc.). And while more than 30 other states have a similar law in place, those states are aimed at the government's overreach, not private parties. What this equates to, even though the Governor (in many interviews) would not admit, is that a business could deny service to a gay person under this law.
There's been a 'war on Christians', as per them, for some time now. This concept comes from the backlash of the non-religious... or non-Christian denominations standing up for their rights. With over 4000 words in the Constitution, not one of them is 'Jesus', 'Christian' or 'Bible'... and this country was founded on the escape of religious persecution... and yet, somehow this country has been labeled a 'Christian nation'. The problem with Christians is the disconnect they have with understanding that not everyone believes in what they do and their beliefs are not superior to another's. So while 'God' is written on money... or Christian prayers are being held in schools... or Christian statues and crosses are being erected in the town square, there's a wave of people who are pushing back on these things, either stating that it has no place in government or in the public... or every other religion should have equal play. The idea of a Satanic statue going up... or a Wiccan chant in a school, etc. (let alone anything Muslim) has Christians outraged to the point that their heads will explode. This hypocrisy is disgusting.
Refusing service to gays played out in Washington State where a florist refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding, stating that it went against their religious beliefs (um, what passage in the Bible says thou shalt not make a baby's-breath and pansy boutonniere for a gay wedding?)... and an Oregon bakery who refused to make a cake. And after a lawsuit, the couple won and was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and the bakery had to close. Especially after the bakery was caught making cakes for both a Satanic and a stem-cell research event, both of which go against their religion, which proved that it was more about homophobic beliefs than religious. And while it's easy to suggest 'what's the big deal, just don't patronize those businesses and go somewhere else', there are many areas of the country that you have to drive 4 hours just to get to a Walmart. The question becomes whether someone should have to drive 4 hours to get a cake because of another's idiotic beliefs, bigotry or their lack of intelligence. These two examples of discrimination gone badly... and the legal counsel that Pence received stating that it would be trouble, didn't stop him from penning the law, complete with a few of his homophobic buddies standing by his side when he signed it. The backlash that he and the state are under came as a surprise to him, which proves that he honestly thought it would be ok to discriminate. Major companies and organizations like the NCAA, Subaru, Nascar and Angie's List are coming out against this move, pulling support and refusing to do business in the state. Even other states and Christian organizations are boycotting. People are calling for the repeal or changing of the law... and LGBT protection under the law.
As Atheists, we always get that we are trying to dismantle religion and disprove God. As gays, we always get that we want some sort of extra rights. It is neither of those but, rather, just to be left alone to live our lives without someone threatening our rights. Atheists are not out to disprove God... there's no real proof of any of it to begin with. We don't believe in any higher power, so someone else's belief doesn't threaten our way of life. Our life isn't a house of cards about to tumble or a wasted life-long pursuit of something that has no proof of being. And, as far as gays go... we don't care what you do... UNTIL your choices or beliefs affect our rights as a human being or someone else's rights. Then we have a problem. Neither Atheists nor gays want anything special... just to be left alone and have the same rights and protections under the law as anyone else. And, unfortunately, that's where the problem lies... because groups (especially Christians with a superiority complex) are not happy going about their business without trying to persecute someone else for their beliefs or who they are.
Times have changed. Belief is at an all-time low and dropping thanks mostly to outdated ideals, greed, pedophilia, hate and killing in the name of religion. It will be the cause of their own demise and they are too stupid to realize they are doing themselves in. They don't have the market cornered on morality any more, in fact, the message and interpretation is so screwed up that it's the opposite, brought to light especially by their own hypocrisy. Jesus' message is surely lost on his followers. Meanwhile, support for gays is at an all-time high. The days of lumping us in with the disease-ridden, pedophiles (98% straight males) and those into bestiality are gone. We're no different than anyone else and turns out we have a voice and are standing up for ourselves. Being gay is in no way worse than being divorced or eating shellfish or wearing a certain fabric. There isn't a sliding scale of what's worse in the eye's of God... and it's no one's place to judge another anyway. It's simple... if marrying a gay person is against your belief, don't marry one.
Indiana's way of thinking is on the wrong side of history. It will be easy to spot these businesses that discriminate.... they will have a 'going out of business' sign on the front of the store. They'll feel it in their wallets first and then, hopefully, in their hearts. It
