First of all, the Indiana legislature revised its legislation yesterday with an amendment “that, while not outlawing anti-gay discrimination, clarified that the religious freedom law does not authorize such discrimination,” which Governor Pence signed into law, according to the New York Times. The actual text is here, and the key elements are that (a) this law is neither an authorization to discriminate on the basis of a protected category, including sexual orientation, nor may it be used as a defense against a civil complaint, except (b) for a church “or other religious nonprofit organization or society” or a minister “when the individual is engaged in a religious or affilated educational function of the church or other nonprofit religious organization or society.”
So, in other words, back to square one — except that Indiana doesn’t have a law specifically providing protection against nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation, so strictly speaking the law doesn’t mandate wedding-service providers to provide their services to all comers, so much as say that, if another law, or a judge based on application of current law, does so, then this law provides no recourse. And what’s more, the narrow protection for ministers seems explicitly to say that if you’re a freelance wedding officiant, this protection doesn’t apply to you.
In the meantime, Memories Pizza has now taken in $500,000 via a gofundme website (not established by them but by people affiliated with the Dana Loesch Show. So, we’re good here, right? The Left’s current spin seems to be that they’re just a bunch of crybabies in closing because of threats of arson or worse, because the threats weren’t credible. But beyond this: are they at risk legally? Most likely they will, upon reopening, face “testers” requesting, in fact, gay-wedding catering; will they be subject to state fines based on current law, or a judge’s finding?
I suppose the bigger question is this, one I don’t have the resources available to answer:
So far, there’s the florist, the baker, and the wedding photographer. The florist has been ordered to create gay-wedding floral arrangements in the future, with a fine still pending (update here). The baker in question is at risk of a $150,000 fine due to the “mental anguish” of the denied couple (update here), even after they closed down their business. The Supreme Court refused to hear the wedding photographer’s appeal last year (see here) but I can’t figure out what the practical consequences were — the $7,000 fine was reportedly waived, but was she allowed to continue in business, or was her business shuttered, or was she told that this was the equivalent of a “warning shot” and next time she’d be made to suffer?
That’s three cases.
Which either means that every other wedding provider who might have objected has been cowed into providing services, or that virtually all gay and lesbian couples are respectful of those with beliefs opposing gay marriage and/or select providers who have expressed support, or that other cases have found in favor of the provider, and these three are the exception. I’d like to say that it’s the second of these explanations — but the anger being poured forth at Memories Pizza and at Indiana more generally, and the knee-jerk reaction by politicians, pundits, and corporations that, of course, Christian wedding-service providers are hateful if they hesitate, makes this unlikely.
Which leaves the question unanswered: why only these three cases?
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