Last month, the signing
into law by Gov. Mike Pence the religious freedom bill in Indiana (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) drove
some people insane. The O’Connor family,
who owns Memories Pizza in Walkerton, IN, soon found itself in the crosshairs
after telling a local reporter that they wouldn’t cater a gay wedding, but said
that they would happily serve gay customers in their establishment. Yes, the hypothetical was absurd, but the
damage was done. Death threats,
including arson, were levied upon the family. They closed their doors due to security
concerns.
The Blaze’s Dana Loesch
and her crew started a GoFundMe page
to help the embattled family by raising nearly $850,000 in donations. To no one’s surprise, some on the left thought
this act of charity was a conspiracy from the beginning – that the O’Connor
family purposefully conducted themselves in this manner to collect those
donations.
The O’Connor’s horrific moment in the spotlight caught the eye of
Courtney Hoffman, a business owner, who donated $20 to the family with this
message:
“As a member of the gay community, I would like to apologize for
the mean spirited attacks on you and your business. I know many gay individuals who fully support
your right to stand up for your beliefs and run your business according to
those beliefs. We are outraged at the
level of hate and intolerance that has been directed at you and I sincerely
hope that you are able to rebuild.”
Hoffman owns a kettle
corn business with her partner. In an
interview on The Jeff Adams Show, she urged tolerance (via CBS San Francisco):
“We know so many gay individuals that fully
support the freedom of living your life according to your beliefs and feel that
freedom extends to everyone, even the people that we don’t agree with. … If we
can remember that differences don’t equal maliciousness, and try to find what
we have in common … maybe we can move beyond threats of violence and have open
discussions of the things that we don’t agree on.”
Hoffman noted that her
partner is in total agreement with her, and that the response to her donation
has been very positive.
Needless to say, not
everyone supported Hoffman’s actions; but since her donation, more gays have
given money to the pizzeria, and she has earned the praise of many of the
conservative talk shows.
Hoffman also cut through
the false narrative that Memories Pizza wouldn’t serve gay customers, only that
they wouldn’t cater to a private event that went against their beliefs. “Though I may not endorse that view, I feel
like we all have to respect their freedom and their right to make that choice,”
Hoffman said. “It’s just wrong to not
extend freedoms that we expect to other people.”
Despite that 40% of U.S.
states have their own versions of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (which was signed into law by
Bill Clinton in 1993) in their laws, some on the progressive left still saw
this bill as a license for businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian
customers. Truth be told, if that were
the case (which it is not), then it would’ve already happened. Only 21-states have public accommodation laws
that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation at private and
government venues that provide a public service.
BTW: Memories Pizza did
re-open to full tables, lines, and no protesters.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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