Iowa Lesbian Wedding Cake War

[onager]

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A central Iowa same-sex couple's wedding planning came to a sudden halt.

Victoria Childress, owner of Victoria's Cake Cottage in Des Moines, met with Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers during a cake-testing appointment to break the news, which caught them off-guard.

"...I said, 'I'll tell you I'm a Christian, and I do have convictions.' And I said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not going to be able to do your cake..."

Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/29763691/detail.html#ixzz1eOhUrf9m

And still more at The Advocate:

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/19/Will_Wedding_Cake_Debacle_End_Lesbians_Hope_So/

I heard Victoria Childress herself tonight on the radio, whining about the vicious oppression she's suffering because of her Xian beliefs. In fact, Childress seems to be aggressively courting the media. She was bragging about all the shows she has been on because of this incident.

I caught her on - where else? - Los Angeles' premier Fundie radio station, (K)KKLA. She appeared on "The Intersection of Faith & Reason." Which, if the Truth-In-Advertising laws really mattered, would be called "The Head-On Collision of Reason and Ridiculous Fundie Bullshit."

Childress may have a legal problem because Iowa amended its Civil Rights Act in 2007 to include same-sex discrimination, and passed a gay-marriage bill the following year.

On the radio show, she seemed outraged that she was getting a lot hate mail from her fellow Xians. They're telling her she didn't do the "loving Xian thing." Childress answered that by cherry-picking the usual anti-gay crap from the Bible - "I didn't say it, GAWD said it!" etc. etc.

And the lesbian couple she turned away? Both self-identified as practicing Xians themselves. (As mentioned in The Advocate article.)

So what say you? Is Childress within her rights to refuse service to anyone, as she insists? Or is she a bigot who may be rightfully put out of business?

Usual Disclaimer: I am a straight white male atheist, so I don't have a god in this fight. And I'm very conservative on the gay-rights issue. Meaning, anyone who is an American like me has the same rights as I do. Period.

[qb]

1. It sounds like she's in violation of state law and should suffer the legal consequences.

But even if that's not the case, I'd be just fine with her suffering the resulting boycott, which she has (apparently proudly) earned.

[bluestateguy]

2. She needs to find a new state to live in if that is how she is going to be

There are 44 other states where gays cannot marry. I suggest she pick one.

My parents actually knew another couple that was so bothered by gay marriage being legal in Iowa that they moved to Tennessee, that's how strongly they felt.

No, they are not friends with them anymore.

[appleannie1]

3. She might be within her rights but by treating potential customers in this fashion she

will probably lose a LOT of business. Possibly enough to put her out of business. I was a business owner. Word of mouth is your best source of advertising. Not only does your product matter to most customers, how you treat them also matters. Read any small business comment section. It will not only include the product, it will also include how the staff or proprietor treated the customer. Would you read a review of say a restaurant that included "the staff was rude" and the food was ok but nothing spectacular and then pick up your phone and make reservations?

[onpatrol98]

6. +1

Does she have a right to antagonize paying customers and chance losing customers and eventually her business? Yes. Do I agree with what she did? No. If her job is to bake a cake...bake a cake.

[rurallib]

4. Seems like if she sells to the public she can't discriminate or she pays the penalty

but on a personal level let her leave Iowa. We don't need the likes of her.

[NMMNG]

5. I wouldn't bother with suing a person like that

even if I could win. It would take too much time/effort and only give the bigots too much to whine about (OMG we're being persecuted for our deeply held beliefs!1!1 We're now forced to serve dirty gay people against our principles!1!1).

I'd just tell the business owner in question, "Thank you for letting me know you're a bigot. I don't like to give my money to bigots." Then I'd find another business to patronize. Afterward I'd make sure all of my friends and family knew about the bigot, so they could avoid that business if they so chose, and about the fabulous service I received at the other place, so they could use them instead if they were so inclined.

The bigots are so keen on "free enterprise". They're always preaching about the right to choose who they'll serve, work with, etc. Let them live with the consequences of it.

[Hepburn]

7. Well, then, I think her business is going to go to...

...(pardon the expression) hell.

Hey, she cannot do cakes for those who have lived together before marriage. Those who have had children without the benefit of wedlock. And, of course, she cannot do a cake for anyone who is pro-choice, a woman who has had an abortion, or someone who has been divorced.

Boy...does she have a small audience for her selective services. If she is gonna do the "christian thing," them she better start discriminating against a huge segment of society and not just those who love someone of the same sex!

And...when she is done excluding all of the above persons, she can start on the 10 Commandments, one by one!

:hi:

[NMMNG]

8. Interestingly, the anti-gay bigots never seem to mind those sorts

They'll hand out marriage licenses/bake cakes for/adopt out children to/etc...adulterers, divorcees, non-virginal women, liars, thieves and countless other "sinners". But a gay person comes in and suddenly the person's violating their "Deeply Held Religious Beliefs" will be irredeemably violated and their god will send them to hell if they do their job. What a crock.

[Hepburn]

11. Boy....

..."what a crock" is right!

[Angry Dragon]

9. she is pissing and moaning about some hate she is getting

in the Bible god says turn the other cheek
I guess she stopped reading at gays

[NMMNG]

10. They always whine when they reap as they sow

Funny how they miss that part of the Bible too.

[qb]

12. As long as we're doing bible verses... "Judge not lest ye be judged" fits nicely.

I think the shop owner would fare much better if she stuck to baking cakes and left the judging to her god.

[MarkCharles]

13. I followed a few of those links and found this great ACLU Map about

discrimination laws, state by state.

Evidently in Iowa, the cake bigot is breaking the law. But in several states, she would not be.

http://www.aclu.org/maps/non-discrimination-laws-state-state-information-map


EDNA would end all that, on a nation-wide basis, according to this site.


http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/11/bigot-of-day-victoria-childress.html