[NYer]

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[ZULU]

Its really time for Americans to BACK their government.

This P.C. crap has GOT to be stopped while we still have a Country and a culture left to defend.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

If I were the photographers, I would take this joke of a ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, if need be. This is NOT Canada!

[PRO 1]

Under what authority does this commission have to levy fines towards an individual or private business? It has no authority equal to a court or a state regulatory agency.

[AU72]

I keep wating for the silent majority to lash back and instead may get President Obama.

[longtermmemmory]

violation of conscience more than just “biblical belief” it makes it broader and allows all people to object on the issue of sexual behavior.

[OKIEDOC]

All this under worthless Senor Governor Bill Richardson's watch.

[PubliusMM]

This is an absolute travesty of social injustice. As a merchant, I reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE and I don’t need a reason.
The fact that the state has empowered a ‘commission’ to adjudicate issues and assess fines, even if only for ‘costs’ is patently ridiculous (but widely done, I know).
The appeal should be interesting.

[Mr Rogers]

“Lorence said Americans do not surrender their freedoms of speech or religion just because they choose to open a business.”

Suppose you say your religion prevents you from serving blacks...perhaps you are a hold-over of the old Mormon religion, with its belief that black skin is a punishment for sin.

If you refuse to serve blacks, you WILL be prosecuted and convicted. Same with drugs, etc - your religious beliefs CAN conflict with anti-discrimination laws and result in punishment.

[Resolute Conservative]

I would appeal or burn my business and move out of state. I’d never pay it.

[Santa Fe_Conservative]

I have never heard of them, but it’s probably some very stupid commission the King set up before he grew a beard. From the same guy who gave a special award to a molester too...

[Polybius]

On Wednesday, the Commission found the Christian couple guilty of discrimination under state anti-discrimination laws and ordered them to pay more than $6,000 in costs.

This is a blatant violation of First Amendment rights and a Federal lawsuit should be filed against the Commission.

[r9etb]

There's probably more to this story....

That said, whatever happened to "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone?"

[Lancey Howard]

Sometimes you just play the game. Do the photo shoot, make sure there is a dark smudge on the middle of the camera lens, and then show the photos to the dykes and apologize profusely. “Sorry about that. No charge”. You have to jam these kinds of scumbags right in the back where they deserve it. Rhetorically speaking, of course.

[gidget7]

Note this is NOT a court. It is a “commission”. These people have no Constitutional powers.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[Muleteam1]

Much of this nonsense derives from the many U-Haulers and retirees who are now flooding the State from their own socialized-sickened States. Just go to City-Data forum for New Mexico and read some of the threads about those planning to move to New Mexico. The State is actually thriving during these tough housing market times. See that story here. It's a great time to sell my Albuquerque home to one of these U-Haulers and headback west Texas, one of the few refuges left for conservatism.

[SuziQ]

This type of situation was a concern for folks who offer wedding services in MA, when the Supreme Judicial Court demanded that homosexuals be allowed to ‘marry’. I don’t know if any folks have been harassed by activists, but this shows that it’s always a concern.

[informavoracious]

Do a search on “gay wedding photographers” - there are TONS listed. I would love to see some straight couples try to do business with them and see how they are treated. In some cases maybe okay, but I am sure some would treat them like dirt. I am sending $20 to Elane Photography. They have as much right to choose their clientele based on their beliefs as the gay photographers do. I can just hear the ruckus if anyone advertised as “straight wedding photographers”.

[BoxTurtle]

This couple is just plain mean. I mean, if I were them, and my main concern was having the ceremony thoughtfully recorded, there's no way I would hire someone who was openly opposed to same-sex unions. I'm sure they could have found a more gay friendly candidate. The fact that they pressed the issue shows that this had nothing to do with the ceremony and everything to do with punishing people for their opposing beliefs.

Shameful.