Jan Brewer Makes the Right Call

So let's get this out of the way right now: Christians in this country these days are targets. They can be ridiculed, screwed with, and downright insulted to no end and the popular media culture revels in it. There also has never been a better time in American history to be gay as tolerance of that lifestyle is at an all time high. The LBGT community is no longer preaching tolerance as much as being totally in your face with their lifestyle and if you are the least bit uncomfortable with it, then you are a hater. It's getting old.

So that leads us to a wedding photographer in New Mexico who wouldn't photograph a gay wedding on the basis of religious beliefs. That led to a lawsuit which led to the law being passed in Arizona to protect people like the photographer from doing business with whom they choose or don't choose on the basis of religious beliefs. Which Brewer thankfully vetoed today.

Right away I see there's way too much government involvement in all of this. The photographer was in New Mexico where there is a law that allows the lawsuit. That shouldn't be. If this photographer doesn't want to do business with gays then so be it. Let that photographer deal with the fallout of that decision on his business. No lawsuit is needed, the market will speak. It should've never have gotten this far.

We already have a law that says people can do business with whom they wish. It's called the constitution and the freedom to assemble. Which also covers the freedom to not associate. Are gay dating sites discriminatory to straights? New Mexico should rescind their law that lets people sue a company that won't serve them.

But the overreach of Arizona's law to supposedly protect businesses goes way too far. So Muslim restaurants will refuse to serve christians? Maybe straights can start demanding the aforementioned gay website to serve straights. How about no longer serving blacks on religious terms? This law would allow for religious tyranny.

We conservatives can sometimes fall into the same trap as liberals: We run to papa government to solve our problems. That's not what conservatism is all about. In fact, if we really want to solve the gay marriage thing, stop making tax laws based on marriage. If there is no difference in paying taxes whether single or married, then legal reasons for marriage go away. As far as property rights, wills, and other issues, that can all be solved with private contracts. It's none of the government's goddamn business.

I get the kneejerk reaction of conservatives and I agree that we shouldn't have to do business with those we don't want to. But let's face it: this law really was targeting gays. The unintended consequences would've bit us all in ass. Brewer made the right call.