Liberty is a Two-Way Street

Liberty is a Two-Way Street

By Walter Beck

Alright so I found myself in a bit of hot water again with my big mouth. I was on a GLBTQ activists group on Facebook and someone posted an article about that baker in Iowa that refused service to a lesbian couple and I posted the following;

“This may be an unpopular opinion, but as a private business, the baker has the right to serve whom she wishes to serve without government intervention.

However, in a capitalistic society, we can speak with the power of the dollar. If this baker doesn't want to serve us, that's fine; we'll take our business elsewhere. And we will encourage our friends to take their business elsewhere. The power of the dollar will speak louder and stronger than the power of the government in this case.”

“Unpopular opinion” was an underestimate on my end; I got slammed pretty hardcore for that commentary.

Now, I am a tireless advocate for the GLBTQ community and I look for true equality, but I also believe in true liberty. So if someone doesn’t like gays, that’s their right and I can’t fault them for that as long as it does not infringe on my rights or the rights of my brothers and sisters. I’m not asking for everyone to like us, if you think I’m gonna burn in hell because I’m half-cocksucker, that’s fine. “Bless your heart” as my grandmother would say.

However, your opinion should not affect the distribution of public benefits and Constitutional rights. If you’re going to allow two consenting adults into a mutual contract which receives over one thousand Federal benefits (most call it marriage), you have to allow that for all consenting adults, not just heterosexual consenting adults. That is true equality.

But I can’t sit here and say that you should go to jail just because you think I’m a fag; first off, that’s censorship and something that I’m adamantly against. Second, it would restrict your rights to your opinion. If you wanna call me a “fag” go ahead, just keep in mind that I will probably yell something back at you and it won’t be “happy birthday”.

This is how it all boils down, we both have our rights to our opinions and lives and as long as you don’t restrict my liberty, I won’t restrict yours. If you don’t want to serve me because I’m bisexual, that’s fine, I’ll take my business elsewhere. You are not bound by law to like me for my sexuality and I’m not bound by law to support your business, organization, church, etc.