Indiana Gay Rights Update

[eredien]

The Indianapolis Farmers' Market vendor "Just Cookies" just won't make cookies for gay IU students. Fun fact: the cookie order was eventually placed with the "Flying Cupcake" bakery on, get this, Massachusetts Ave.

I would have volunteered to make them cookies. In fact, here, here's two cookies. Pass them around, folks:









Quote from the article by the local Fox affilate: IUPUI's spokesperson said the school has no formal complaint against the bakery and added embracing diversity means allowing the business owners the right to their opinion and the right to choose how to serve its customers, as long as those customers are not discriminated against.

I think this is an interesting question. When you are running a food-related business and choose not to serve someone because, "We have our values, and you know, some things ... for instance, if someone wants a cookie with an obscenity, well, we're not going to do that," when does choosing not to serve someone because you disagree with who the person is once they have told you become discrimination, and when does that become a business owner simply turning away a customer? Can it, legally, be treated as discrimination? I mean, it seems to me like the customers are being discriminated against by the act of not being served, because they likely would have been served if they had not identified themselves as queer, or had lied and said they wanted the cookies for some other event. Any lawyers want to clear this up?

I wonder how many queer students Just Cookies unknowingly served because they didn't know they were gay; there's evidence they served at least one queer student previously (unknown to them). I bet they won't get many now.

Oh, and Indiana was one of the states to file an amicus brief against same-sex marriage in the prop 8 appeal in CA.

...I can't believe I still want to move back.

Comments

[thoughtsdriftby.livejournal.com]

I think it was more not creating a particular product rather than refusing to serve but I think it was good that the owner of Just Cookies is effectively outed as having such a narrow view of the world and that Flying Cupcake is open to fulfilling simple custom baked goods orders. I now know a proffered bakery in the area to support and one to refuse business from.

I wonder how many My Little Pony themed parties will have to move over to Flying Cupcake now.

[eredien]

- Well, as I understand it, first they asked for cupcakes and were turned down because the bakery only does cookies, which is a reasonable reason.
- And then they were turned down for cookies because the bakery didn't have enough food coloring to do rainbow cookies, which is a reasonable reason.
- And then the bakery owner went on television as saying that they didn't want to make the cookies because they thought such cookies were as obscene as cookies with, for instance, swear words on them.

So, the bakery acknowledges that the students tried to place a cookie order, and the bakery acknowledges the order was turned down because they thought making the rainbow cookies was as obscene as making cookies with obscenities written on them.

And then cited how he had to protect his two young, impressionable daughters (who are 17 and 20, respectively).

The confusion came because the students:
- Originally asked for cupcakes before asking for cookies
- Were originally told that the cookies could not be made because of lack of food coloring.

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

It's entirely possible to tell someone you're refusing them service for what seems like a reasonable reason (lack of food coloring) and really be refusing for other reasons (because they're queer).

[eredien]

I agree wholeheartedly that it's possible, and then some. In fact, I think that "lying plausibly in order to avoid doing something you think is distateful because you don't want to reveal that you think it's distasteful" is the scenario most likely to happen. It is exactly, as far as I can tell, what happened here.

But if you go with the "lie about your distaste" scenario, and then decide to reveal your true motivations on record to a reporter at a later date, it is stupid to think that people won't be pissed off at you for first lying to them about that distaste, then deciding to reveal it.