> Does that same freedom exist for private entities that don't want to bake cakes for gay couples?
I think sexuality should be a protected class. I do not think neo-Nazis or White supremacists should be a protected class. But in the case of the wedding cake, I think it would be fine for bakers, caterers, or photographers to refuse to work at a gay wedding, an event they consider immoral. If a customer happened to be a neo-Nazi and was booking a vacation stay, I doubt AirBnB would have cared. It was the fact that they were using the service to book accommodations for the rally that caused the company to cancel their booking.
> That is why you need to defend the principle, even if you don't like the specifics of what you are defending, and is why, for example, the ACLU is defending Milo
The ACLU is defending Milo from government suppression of his speech. I agree with the principle they are defending. This is not the same as a private entity deciding not to do business with him. The ACLU will not, for instance, help him sue Simon & Schuster for cancelling his book deal.
I'm all for not doing business with hate and or terrorist groups but I don't think I'd want to ground it on "freedom of association" basis as anyone could make that same claim for not serving a sub-class of people. Maybe protestants refuse to serve atheists, or vice versa, for example.
imron|8 years ago
The problem with limiting freedoms to certain groups is that you have little to no control over who gets to decide which groups are acceptable.
Today it might be a group you don't like. One election later and it might be a group that you are a part off.
That is why you need to defend the principle, even if you don't like the specifics of what you are defending, and is why, for example, the ACLU is defending Milo: https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/how-could-you-represe...
zhemao|8 years ago
I think sexuality should be a protected class. I do not think neo-Nazis or White supremacists should be a protected class. But in the case of the wedding cake, I think it would be fine for bakers, caterers, or photographers to refuse to work at a gay wedding, an event they consider immoral. If a customer happened to be a neo-Nazi and was booking a vacation stay, I doubt AirBnB would have cared. It was the fact that they were using the service to book accommodations for the rally that caused the company to cancel their booking.
> That is why you need to defend the principle, even if you don't like the specifics of what you are defending, and is why, for example, the ACLU is defending Milo
The ACLU is defending Milo from government suppression of his speech. I agree with the principle they are defending. This is not the same as a private entity deciding not to do business with him. The ACLU will not, for instance, help him sue Simon & Schuster for cancelling his book deal.
mc32|8 years ago
zhemao|8 years ago
unknown|8 years ago
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