“This is, of course, true. How could outlawing a personal inclination or opinion in itself not be a violation of free speech or freedom of association?”
Yes, but we have laws against discriminating against people due to their race and your personal inclinations. A person can have their opinion but cannot disqualify an entire race or sex from applying for a job position just due to those qualities.
I think the idea that government can create peace and happiness by telling employers how to spend their own money has been a spectacular failure in both the public and private sectors. Ask employers. Ask customers. Ask yourself what it's like to use the subway system in New York City.
And as I mentioned, it fails on Constitutional grounds right out of the box.
Christian charity is due every man. But it means nothing--and is ineffective--when the State tries to make itself the judge of necessarily personal transactions like hiring.
We have obviously unqualified people being hired because of the presumption that certain favored racial minorities and females deserve to be first in line--and automatic lawsuits against the employer when they have to be let go. And we have those with better skills and better personalities for the job getting excluded because they are not part of the state-favored group.
This is all because governments--those with the least experience in the marketplace--think they are qualified to judge job qualifications there.
Let employers gain or lose based on how well they assess applicants of whatever race, color, or religion. In real life, they learn fast. And when they don't learn, they're the ones left in the dust because they paid more than they would have with a wider applicant pool and an open mind.