Ruminations

Blog dedicated primarily to randomly selected news items; comments reflecting personal perceptions

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Choices: Live and Let Live

It seems a reasonable enough proposition.  Leave people alone.  Everyone should have the right to choose their way of life.  And that right, optimally given to everyone should not dictate to any how they must and should react to others, sparing any outright acts of gross intolerance, insult or hatred.  Simply go your own way.  And allow others to do the same.

Homosexuals have in the past in Western society suffered great discrimination that made life extremely difficult.  The indignities and misery that they suffered, the fear, insecurity and the violence that often accompanied their passage through life was a marked instance of bigoted discrimination.  That time has now long past. 

Most decent and fair societies recognize equality between people irrespective of gender distinctions.

But there are miserable, small-minded people who exist within all social communities, and the gay and same-sex communities are no different.  Among them there are sufficient numbers of people whose resentment against straights are so profound that only genuflection will suffice to allow them to grudgingly accept that not everyone is interested in their gender distinctions.

Nor should they logically, given human nature, expect that people whose religious faith has taught them that gender differences are not acceptable, would suddenly embrace those differences, abandoning their faith.  As long as these die-hard refusals to acknowledge that many choose same-sex alliances and that is a private matter, there will be resistance.

But a passive resistance is not a criminal act, it is an affirmation of a personal belief that has its basis in culture and religion, and it is tolerable, because under the law there exists guarantees of equality.  Yet because a religious individual politely declines to proffer professional services on request to a same-sex couple gives scant reason for compelling them to act in a manner that offends their human rights.

A family photographer that refuses to be hired by a same-sex couple to document their "commitment ceremony" in New Mexico, a state that does not officially recognize same-sex marriage, is being taken to the state's human rights tribunal for declining to take photographs of other than "traditional weddings". 

The absurdity of a state whose marriage laws discriminate against same-sex unions insisting that an individual be compelled to provide a service she finds personally repugnant is completely nonsensical. 

The nasty, mean-spirited effort of a woman, Vanessa Willock, to compel Elane Photography to bend to her will, despite that she could easily obtain services from any other like photographic company is overwhelmingly unjust.

Labels: , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

 
()() Follow @rheytah Tweet