There are a lot of topics I want to rant about (pro-life issues, Trump, academic progressivism, the Pope, etc.), but one that absolutely drives me batshit crazy is the notion that government can mandate activities: for instance, a Christian-owned bakery must agree to sell customized "gay wedding" cakes on demand, a Christian photographer must cover a gay commitment ceremony and/or, as in the clip below, a Christian film producer must produce pro-LGBT content if he produces pro-Christian content.
In the market, the emphasis is on VOLUNTARY exchanges. A restaurant has policies: maybe it insists on the men wearing suits and ties, it may have a small capacity and require reservations; it may have underestimated demand for an item on the menu. When my paternal aunt in Connecticut recently died, my cousins hosted a post-funeral lunch at a restaurant on Main St., very near my aunt's house. The said restaurant was normally closed on Mondays. It was just that the owner/operator would have to work during his "weekend", he also had to find staff willing to work on their day off. I'm sure Uncle Ray and his family ate there many times over the decades, maybe they socialized and/or belonged to the same parish, but my cousins had no authority to demand it. And no doubt, if the restaurant had turned my cousins down, they would have contacted other restaurants in the area.
Under today's crackpot political correctness regime, a group of envious, trouble-making Satanists or atheists observing the restaurant open to accommodate a Catholic funeral might demand the restaurant to open next Monday for, who knows, Satan's birthday. The owner has the right to say no, for any or no reason. The government has no authority to dictate his business schedule; maybe the Satanist is some obnoxious jerk; maybe the owner has religious reasons for not wanting to do business with the son of Satan. Maybe the owner can't staff the event; maybe he has other personal plans. It really doesn't matter.
Money is fungible. The restaurant owner isn't blocking the Satanist's opportunity to do business with the competition, many of which would happily pocket a handsome profit by taking the order, money the Christian restaurant owner is leaving on the table. But NO--this isn't about staffing an event for which there are easily available substitute goods and services.
These civil rights commissions, like in Colorado and Minnesota, are violating the Constitutional right of economic liberty. What they are doing is nothing short of State-directed economic conscription, a form of slavery. It robs individuals of their property rights; it violates their rights of expression and voluntary assembly/association.
