Arizona SB-1062: Keeping the Faith

While we at Elephant We Ignore are adamant supporters of LGBT civil liberties, we feel that recent backlash from pro-gay groups against Republican-led Arizona State faith-based refusal of services legislation is misguided (REUTERS). One of our fundamental rights is enumerated in the 1st Amendment: Freedom of Religion.

We hope private businesses will provide services fairly, but it is their right to refuse non-emergency services for any reason. This is part of liberty. Catholics being forced to provide contraceptive services through Obamacare is similarly misguided as private citizens being compelled to provide services that conflict with their faith. We feel our LGBT rights allies have overstepped in this instance. Further, this backlash is exactly what opponents of same-sex marriage will identify as a gross infringement on individual religious liberty.

Liberty for all is inherently messy and full of conflict. This is good. It means conflicting opinions are protected as they should.