In the debates over bakers , wedding photographers and gay weddings there is a constant argument. It goes well did they do a wedding of someone that was divorced , do they sell unhealthy foods to someone that has obvious problems with the sin of gluttony; etc etc . HYPOCRITES ALL OF THEM .
As Cardinal Newman said conscience has rights because it has duties .In the debate among Christians if Jesus would bake a wedding cake the aspect of the State overriding a person's conscience and putting many people of Faith in hard spot is often overlooked.
There is I have to say among some Christians an amazing lack of empathy in this regard.
All this made me think about the people , the privileged in our society , that both formally and informally get to discriminate. That is Lawyers !
I have not heard many calls that Christian Lawyers call to " service " involves taking every case that comes through the door even thought they might have moral qualms.
Here is a example.
If someone came to me and said I need your legal work to set up a gay bar I might have a problem. If was it just a bar where likely people of same sex attraction might hang I might have not problems. However if it was a REAL GAY BAR rivaling some famous places on Bourbon Street I very well would object and not take their case. Further regardless of what kind of gay bar it was I might take their case if the City was placing fast and loose with the zoning laws in order to prohibit it being being built.
Now some Christians and non Christians would think this distinctions I make are crazy and inconsistent. However according to my conscience this iswhere I draw the line.
Of course my conscience can be overridden by a compelling state interest. For instance I am free not have to set up a couple civil like union through various means. However in a criminal case I would not be free not to represent a gay person if the court appointed me . For instance though I oppose gay marriage I would feel obligated to give the best defense including the argument of spousal privilege.
We can go on and on.
For instance a lawyer that is part of the Freedom from Religion crowd should not be compelled to have to set up a Church as a corporation. At least that is my view.
The fact is in most States as a formal and informal matter Lawyers don't have to take every client that comes through the door that has a valid case.
Why then is a lawyer's talent, industry etc so different from a bakers or wedding photographers . Why is a Lawyer objector rights so much more privileged than a bakers ?
Include the Lawyers in this argument and you might see a different attitude .
I think your analogy fails. The hypothetical baker probably will not (and probably should not) refuse to bake a cake for a divirced person, true. But I think that baker might refuse (and would be more justified to refuse) to bake a cake specifically to celebrate a couple's divorce. I.e., refusing a service because one objects to a speciifc, public act...not teh same as refusing to provide a service for a person because they belong to a class of people. By analogy, the baker is refusing specifically to bake a cake for a gay wedding..s/he is not refusing to bake a birthday cake (or whatever) for a gay person. In every case that I have heard, this has been the scenario.
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