Fairness
My little small town is actually a fairly progressive town, which is one of the reasons I was so able to stay here after my husband and I had both graduated.
But there's an issue that seems to have a good part of the town divided. The Fairness Ordinance. While most people are in support of it, some oppose it on the grounds of "reverse discrimination." They believe it forces those who are not LGBT community or allies to condone that lifestyle and even grants the LGBT community special privileges.
Let's think about this in a term that many of those opposing would still consider sin, but it's a sin we seem much more comfortable with: divorce.
Image that you went through a divorce in a society that sees divorcees the way that many see a gay man. And imagine there were not ordinances protecting you from discrimination.
You're starving, and rather that stop by a fast food chain, you want to see your money benefit the local community, so you hit up a quaint local restaurant. You go in, seat yourself, decide what to order, but before the waitress comes to take your order she stops and goes back into the kitchen. Then the manager comes out and tells you that you will have to leave, they don't serve divorcees and they can't condone the lifestyle you've chosen to live.
Then you find an adorable apartment that is perfect for you. It's walking distance to work, a fair price, exactly what you're looking for. Your credit is great, the rent would only be 25% of your monthly income, and your references are impeccable. No one else has shown interest in renting over the past month, and you are more than willing to sign the one year minimum lease. But then the owner of the property hears talk that you've been divorced and, based on that information alone, you lose out on the apartment. You are forced to continue hunting because of your marital status.
After a few of those instances, you start to live your life in constant fear. Your friends invite you out, but if it's a restaurant you know has an anti-divorce stance you have to decline or risk the embarrassment of being tossed out in front of people you love.
My real point here? Whether or not you agree with someone else lifestyle, they deserve the same basic protection and respect we all take for granted. We have legislature that protected my right to breastfeed in public, that protected my job when I was pregnant, and that allows me the same freedoms as my husband because we are all human. The fact that someone could be refused service based on who they love, is a wrong I can't believe exists in the United States.
*P.S Not every Christian is like this. I and most of my friends and church would fall under the category of doing what Jesus said and loving people. But... this comic has a certain amount of accuracy in mainstream media.
But there's an issue that seems to have a good part of the town divided. The Fairness Ordinance. While most people are in support of it, some oppose it on the grounds of "reverse discrimination." They believe it forces those who are not LGBT community or allies to condone that lifestyle and even grants the LGBT community special privileges.
Let's think about this in a term that many of those opposing would still consider sin, but it's a sin we seem much more comfortable with: divorce.
Image that you went through a divorce in a society that sees divorcees the way that many see a gay man. And imagine there were not ordinances protecting you from discrimination.
You're starving, and rather that stop by a fast food chain, you want to see your money benefit the local community, so you hit up a quaint local restaurant. You go in, seat yourself, decide what to order, but before the waitress comes to take your order she stops and goes back into the kitchen. Then the manager comes out and tells you that you will have to leave, they don't serve divorcees and they can't condone the lifestyle you've chosen to live.
Then you find an adorable apartment that is perfect for you. It's walking distance to work, a fair price, exactly what you're looking for. Your credit is great, the rent would only be 25% of your monthly income, and your references are impeccable. No one else has shown interest in renting over the past month, and you are more than willing to sign the one year minimum lease. But then the owner of the property hears talk that you've been divorced and, based on that information alone, you lose out on the apartment. You are forced to continue hunting because of your marital status.
After a few of those instances, you start to live your life in constant fear. Your friends invite you out, but if it's a restaurant you know has an anti-divorce stance you have to decline or risk the embarrassment of being tossed out in front of people you love.
My real point here? Whether or not you agree with someone else lifestyle, they deserve the same basic protection and respect we all take for granted. We have legislature that protected my right to breastfeed in public, that protected my job when I was pregnant, and that allows me the same freedoms as my husband because we are all human. The fact that someone could be refused service based on who they love, is a wrong I can't believe exists in the United States.
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