"Baker refuses to make wedding cake for lesbian couple and 'calls them...

[RavnFreek]

Your example of a Steelers bar isn't the same thing. The owner of the Steelers bar is still welcoming you in and allowing you to buy his beer. You choose not to go on because you don't like the atmoshpere. I would equate your Steelers example to the eHarmony thread. Neither is discrimination.

However, the baker isn't allowing gays to buy his product because they are gay. There's a huge difference. This is no different than not wanting to sell to blacks. It's discrimination.

Yeah, I know , that was sort of a light hearted joke.

[Cameron]

I guess my point is that why would anyone even want to give their business to someone who hates them?

Probably the customers don't know that the businesses hate them until they go into the business and they are refused service.

[RavnFreek]

Probably the customers don't know that the businesses hate them until they go into the business and they are refused service.

ok fair enough, but what would be accomplished by forcing them to give you service? If the baker said, "no i'm not serving you" then the law comes down on him and says he has to. He complies and remains open for business. You probably wont go back even if he has to serve you. (and if you do, shame on you)
So what's the difference?

[Cameron]

ok fair enough, but what would be accomplished by forcing them to give you service? If the baker said, "no i'm not serving you" then the law comes down on him and says he has to. He complies and remains open for business. You probably wont go back even if he has to serve you. (and if you do, shame on you)
So what's the difference?

You likely wouldn't go back, but I expect you were embarrassed and angry when you were refused service.

So you allow the law to explain the facts of life to the business.

[tsmonk]

Although I did not support the marriage vote for homos in Maryland, if I had a business that dealt with weddings, such a bakery, a catering company, or photography, then I would not turn them down for business. I would want to build my customer base, and it would be silly to refuse more revenue for my business. In fact, I would ask them for referrals.

[regularguy]

this is a private businessman who refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple. your attempts to broaden the scope with red herrings and hypotheticals is a sad attempt to bolster your weak arguments.

take your business elsewhere, complain on the appropriate review/ratings sites about the business, spread word of mouth.....but most importantly

GET OVER YOURSELVES!

Get over myself? Since I'm a straight white male of protestant heritage, I've never had to put up with businesses refusing to serve me, or doing so grudgingly, for discriminatory reasons.

My hypotheticals have something in common with the baker refusing to do business with gay customers: they're all illegal discrimination under state law, in Oregon as well as in Maryland. The reason I presented the questions was to see if you and others here had the same attitude, across the board, about businesses that want the freedom to discriminate against various groups in our society.

[regularguy]

You make it know that they are the way they are and take your business elsewhere. Why would you want to work for, live in, or give your business to someone who doesn't like you anyhow? I don't get it. If a racist KKK member said, "ok ill follow the rules and let black people drink at my bar" Probably wouldn't have any black people drinking at his bar anyhow because he's an ignorant racist and they wouldn't want to give their money to his establishment anyhow.
I'd rather just know where people stand so I know not to give my money to people who don't like me.

I've had bosses I don't like personally, and I've certainly had landlords that I don't like. As for store/bar/restaurant/hotel owners, it's absurdly rare for me to know what personal opinions they hold. And how often do you deal with the actual owner of a company with which you do business? Other than the owner of Chick-Fil-A (who customers would never actually deal with at a restaurant), I have no idea whether any businesses I patronize would prefer not to serve gays/blacks/Jews/(whatever).

As for your own hypothetical, in the real world your Klan-member bar owner would either not reveal to casual customers his ties to the KKK, or he would be the proprietor of a stereotypically sleazy biker-bar in the rural deep south that nobody but racist bikers would even think of going to.

[kudzu]

Oregon's law covers both race and sexual orientation.

Oregon thinks that if a female chops off her breasts and takes male hormones then she's a "man".

So I think we can safely ignore Oregon's legal findings...