In a fundraising email today, American Family Association president Tim Wildmon warns that the list of careers that Christians can hold in America “is quickly shrinking as homosexuals pro-actively seek opportunities to wreck the personal business and career of any Christian who declines to support the gay lifestyle.”I have posted about some of the instances of perceived persecutions mentioned by Wildmon before but Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta highlights and sums up the faulty reasoning behind Wildmon's claims quite well:
The email lists “7 common careers Christians may no longer hold in America,” which it says includes photography, broadcasting and teaching. Wildmon cites a few cases in which business owners have been sued for refusing to provide services to gay people and have sought broad exemptions from anti-discrimination laws that apply to businesses operating in the public square. He also cites the case of Craig James, who was hired by a regional Fox Sports network before being fired by the national network, which he claimed was because of his “personal religious beliefs.” Wildmon claims that James, who has since been hired by the Family Research Council , is a martyr who has been banned from broadcasting thanks to “homosexual aggression.”
In each of those cases, the issue wasn’t that Christians were being too devout. It’s that they were either unable to follow the law or unable to fulfill the obligations of the profession.What Hemant touches on here is what is referred to as "offering a limited menu" based on preference. In other words if you open a business ALL services must be available to ALL consumers. It falls under the general purview of the public accommodation section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
When you have a public business like a bakery, you can’t say “I’m not making this for you because it’s for a Bar Mitzvah” any more than you can say you won’t make a cake because it’s for a gay wedding. In those cases, what the Christian business owners are doing is just illegal. Same with photographers and florists and innkeepers. Do your job and treat your customers equally or get out of the business. If you can’t handle customer requests, you’re in the wrong line of work,,,
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So Christians are welcome to hold all of those professions in America. The list of opportunities isn’t shrinking for them just because they’re very religious. The only people losing their jobs are the people who refuse to do those jobs properly. Just as it should be.
AFA Warns 'Homosexual Aggression' Has Banned Christians From '7 Common Careers' | Right Wing Watch
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