Thank you so much for responding. I am really trying to get this straight in my head so I can better formulate my conversation with other believers. I want to keep them off the ledge. I want dialog not vitriolic screaming matches. This is too true, too often. While I agree on the surface - I have to ask... no matter what? I mean - we could go to some dark places pretty fast. Where is the line here? (and I SWEAR I'm not trying to pick a fight - just trying to really understand)Churches are well known for blowing the stories you hear WAY out of the water, and exaggerating every aspect.
If you provide a service to a group, you must provide it to all people
I would draw the line at two factors - whether it is a public or private space, and whether exclusion is based on action or identity. If you don't want certain kinds of people entering your home, nobody can stop you from being a bigot on your own lawn. But in a public space like a shop or street everyone should be able to exist. Only if they cause serious trouble (actions) you can throw people out - that's why businesses have house rules. The real world is often more nuanced than this but it's a good rule of thumb, I think.
Legally (caveat: I am not a lawyer), you can't discriminate based on a person being in a protected class. So the baker can't turn away someone for being Muslim or gay, but they can refuse to bake a cake celebrating the death of a customer's nemesis. Taking glee in the death of the neighbor with the pink house isn't a protected class. That said, most things aren't black and white. Are there some uncomfortable scenarios you can describe? I'll offer one I'm not sure of: if the wedding photographer was hired for a satanic wedding, what options do they have? If it's functionally similar to a Christian wedding, I think they're obligated to offer their services. If the ceremony takes place at midnight on Halloween and includes a simulated goat slaughter, I think they're not obligated as they would not provide service for any such ceremony, Christian, secular or satanic. Put another way, those who provide services to the public must provide the same services to people regardless of their protected class.no matter what?
I edited my comment, not sure if you saw the revisions, but you may want to look over it again. Any rules must be applied to all people, and be applicable to all people unless for some very specific reason. "I through you out if you yell and scream" is fine. "I throw you out if you walk into this place wearing symbols of hatred" is fine as well. "I throw you out because of who you are" is not. Being gay isn't a decision people make, it's not a choice a person has in their life. Heck, there is even argument that the same is true for belief, that we are set up over years to believe what we do, and we can't just change that on a dime. To not serve someone, especially in a nation where so many may share your views, can hurt them in a severe way, can isolate them from society, drive them to desperation, make them feel hated. That's why all people have the right to be treated well, and why Christians do not have the right not to serve gay people. It hurts them, it hurts society, just as much as any other crime. At the end, laws, rights, and rules are a question of "what's best for us". Religious practice is a right because we all deserve to believe without being told we cannot. However, when that right infringes on the rights of another, when that right hurts someone else, it should not be given.While I agree on the surface - I have to ask... no matter what?