Say the only pharmacy in town is owned by a conservative Muslim. He believes that women should be covered. A mother comes in to get antibiotics for her sick child. He refuses service unless she covers herself. Will the religious right defend this?
Rho points out that the bill gives employees the right to discriminate even if the owner of the business doesn’t share their views. If you own a bakery that does business for gay weddings and one of your employees becomes a born again Christian and refuses to bake cakes, what do you do?
If you fire her, she likely can sue you for wrongful termination. If you keep her, you have an employee who is refusing to do the work for which she was hired and possibly alienating your customers.
What if an Army sergeant in full regalia is driving through a small town and his car breaks down and it’s too late to find a mechanic? There are two hotels in the town; both are owned by pacifist Christians. Do the backers of this bill really believe it should be legal for him to be refused a room and forced to sleep in his car?
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