Friday, December 28, 2012

Lose Your Religious Convictions...or Lose Your Business

On the heels of the outrageous (and disastrous) move by radical leftist Sonia Sotomayor denying Hobby Lobby's request for the Supreme Court to protect religious freedom, comes this story.

An Annapolis company whose old-fashioned trolleys are iconic in the city's wedding scene has abandoned the nuptial industry rather than serve same-sex couples.

The owner of Discover Annapolis Tours said he decided to walk away from $50,000 in annual revenue instead of compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland in less than a week. And he has urged prospective clients to lobby state lawmakers for a religious exemption for wedding vendors.

While most wedding businesses across the country embraced the chance to serve same-sex couples, a small minority has struggled to balance religious beliefs against business interests.

Wedding vendors elsewhere who refused to accommodate same-sex couples have faced discrimination lawsuits — and lost. Legal experts said Discover Annapolis Tours sidesteps legal trouble by avoiding all weddings...


The story above reminded me of a quote from Professor Mark Rienzi I posted on my Facebook page a few days ago, a quote taken from this excellent NRO article: "Religious freedom is the birthright of every American. A waitress or gas-station owner has as much right to religious freedom as a monk or a nun. The administration has taken an extraordinarily narrow view of religious liberty: that as soon as someone enters the marketplace to earn a profit, he has surrendered his religious freedom."