What always amuses me about the religious right is how downright stupid they are. They’re not ignorant. Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge about a subject whereas stupidity refers to someone who knows very little about a subject yet offers a totally incorrect opinion as if it were fact.
So now the religious right of Arizona want to be able to refuse service to anyone who offends their personal religious practice. They are currently focusing on homosexuals. Apparently, a homosexual couple sued a photographer who refused to take pictures at their wedding and another couple sued a baker who refused to bake a cake for their wedding. I don’t know why they sued. I wouldn’t want someone taking my picture if they didn’t like my lifestyle but as someone who has worked as a wedding photographer for many years (and I’ve done my share of same-sex weddings) all the photographer had to say was that s/he was booked for that day. If a Nazi couple asked me to shoot their wedding I wouldn’t give them a speech on humanity, I’d simply say I was booked for that day.
But that’s the easy part. Here’s the stupid part….why gay people? Would they refuse to serve people who masturbate? The Bible strictly prohibits onanism for men (but not for women).What about unmarried couples who are unmarried but fornicate? That’s a big no-no. Will they turn away people who don't observe the Sabbath? The second commandment forbids people from making and owning graven images (think statues of Jesus, Mary, and anything else) Will these religious people ostracize anyone who keeps statues and thereby breaks the second commandment?
The answer is pretty simple. These people really don’t give a damn about religion. What they care about is making sure that people with whom they feel uncomfortable should not be welcome in their world. Apparently that is limited to gays. (Are there any Jews, Blacks, Muslims or Orientals there?)
The problem for Arizona is that incestuous cultures burn themselves out pretty quickly. Which may not be a bad thing considering the group we’re talking about.