I don't think people believe that he is advocating poisoning a gay couple ( I certainly don't). It's just a really bad joke. I think it's fair to wonder as well whether that bad joke reflects personal animosity towards gay people. Perhaps you agree with him on gay marriage , but you would not make such a joke. Someone running for president needs to have better judgment .

As far for your hypothetical question if I were ordered to represent a racist then I would do the best job I could for that person. In that role, it's not my job to judge that person. It 's my job to do everything I can to get the best possible result for the client. That's my job, my role, my profession.

Is it like the Pope's defence of violence in the face of free speech he may find offensive? Why is it these religous types are fine with such "jokes" at the moment?

I guess my real question in all of these is why on earth should a baker be offended by the idea of a cake for a gay marriage?

And what if there aren't any local bakers who are free enough of bigotry to make a cake for Mr & Mr Smith's nuptials?

bbauska

Would I have someone fix me dinner who I had just offended? Certainly not!
Would you have someone you have offended make a meal for you

That's what blacks did throughout the south in the late fifties and early sixties. They sat in restaurants and demanded service.
If they simply walked away to the restaurants that would serve them, segregation would still be a fact.
The right to be treated equally in the public space, includes the right to be treated equally by commercial enterprises.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD9Ua7FuzyA

Why is this so funny, then? Hollywood can make the same sort of joke? Perhaps this is just another of the one-sided allowance of humor that is accepted by some.

I have said that I do not condone the line, but it makes sense. Freeman, perhaps you are a better man than I am. I could not represent a racist, sexist, bastard of a client. I applaud you for your ability to not let your values affect your actions.

RickyP, We have discussed this elsewhere, and I will not listen to your drone ad nauseum again.

Well, Brad, those are the requirements of the profession, given how you phrased the hypothetical.
On the other hand, I have the power of choice with what clients I do business with as long as I don 't discriminate on the basis of race, gender, etc.... and sexual orientation
As for the bakery, it is just being asked to provide the same service for gay customers as they would for everyone else. They are making a food product with eggs, butter, whipping cream, etc and providing it to a customer to consume . The bakery should not be concerned with how the customer makes use of its food product. We don't mandate liability for gun retailers when someone misuses a gun, because as a society we have decided the gun retailer need not concern itself with how its product--far more dangerous than a cake--is used after purchase. That's how the bakery needs to think.

It is a bit jarring to see a black man talk about the bakery being forced to do business with the gay couple or be sued . Guess he has forgotten about whites only restaurants being forced to do business with black customers...

bbauska

RickyP, We have discussed this elsewhere, and I will not listen to your drone ad nauseum again

.

Its the umpteenth time you raised the issue of the gay couples and the "christian" bakery. And each time you hold that the Gays should just walk away.
If the comparison with segregation and the freedom riders as a corollary was apt the first time its still apt.
I understand it makes you uncomfortable, but there it is.

Ummm, Freeman brought it up. Get your facts straight.

bbauska

I think he was saying that it makes no sense to frustrate someone who is making your cake when there are others who will do the cake. I agree with that sentiment.

fine i'll rephrase.
Its the umpteenth time we've discussed the issue of the gay couples and the "christian" bakery. And each time you hold that the Gays should just walk away.
If the comparison with segregation and the freedom riders as a corollary was apt the first time its still apt.
I understand it makes you uncomfortable, but there it is.

rickyp wrote:bbauska

I think he was saying that it makes no sense to frustrate someone who is making your cake when there are others who will do the cake. I agree with that sentiment.

fine i'll rephrase.
Its the umpteenth time we've discussed the issue of the gay couples and the "christian" bakery. And each time you hold that the Gays should just walk away.
If the comparison with segregation and the freedom riders as a corollary was apt the first time its still apt.
I understand it makes you uncomfortable, but there it is.

noted w/o comment