Chik Fil A and teh Geighs

I’m an American, but I’m not a flag waving Jingo like a lot of so-called Patriots. I’ll sing the Star Spangled Banner, but won’t stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That being said I believe in the one thing that separates this country from others…freedom.  As such, I support the freedom to own the biggest fucking gun I can carry, the freedom to buy liquor wherever and whenever I want, and the freedom to express my opinion without fear of being thrown in jail or harassed by government thugs. That being said, I believe in the freedom to swing one’s arms as long as you are not hitting someone else’s nose.



Last time I checked, this guy didn't hate anyone.



Unfortunately, some people in this country believe that freedom only extends to a privileged class of Believers and that they have the right to dictate the freedoms we enjoy whether we believe their superstitious nonsense or not. Paradoxically, these are the same people that decry the lack of freedom in other countries governed by theocratic dictatorships.  They want to spread Democracy (i.e. Christianity) abroad, yet they consistently seek to suppress individual freedoms at home. These are people who can hold diametrically opposed views, yet find nothing wrong with that fact.

I believe that homosexuals should be allowed to marry and be conferred the same rights of survivorship and inheritance that heterosexuals enjoy because I believe that the State has no business meddling in the private lives of the individual. In my mind there are two components to marriage: civil and religious. The State’s interest in marriage is only to enforce the contractual aspect of marriage. End of story. The state has no interest in deciding whether a contract is valid based on the sexual proclivities of those that enter into the contract.  The religious aspect is a private matter that is up to the various denominations. If a church declines to recognize a marriage, that is their choice. A church may choose to split over the matter, but religious schisms are nothing new, ask any Orthodox Christian, Shia Muslim, or Reformed Jew.

While I believe in the freedom to marry for LGBT folks, I also believe there is a limitation to the government’s ability to compel a private enterprise to conform to attitudes that are not aligned with their own ideals. Boycotting by private citizens is one thing, everyone has the right to spend their money in whatever manner they choose, but a city trying to force a business out of their region goes beyond their purview. At the same time, the State cannot compel a private business to change their views on a subject, nor should they insert themselves into the fray.  A Christian organization that refuses to cover birth control can be compelled since they enjoy tax exempt status, but a private tax-paying organization cannot.  Cities can choose not to conduct business with a company based on their views, as they did in the era of Apartheid , but they cannot run them out of town, nor can they deny the right to conduct business within the city limits. That’s the other side of freedom.