Small businesses oppose anti-LGBT bias of religious freedom laws, poll finds
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Version 0 of 1. Related: Gay marriage plaintiff Obergefell: push for religious freedom laws is offensive The fight for marriage equality might be coming to a store near you. Thanks to the supreme court, same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. But there are some states where small businesses, based on the religious beliefs of their owners, can refuse services to same-sex couples. While many Republican politicians defend the right to do so, a majority of small-business owners do not believe same-sex couples and other LGBT customers should be denied services based on such beliefs. According to a Small Business Majority poll released on Monday, two-thirds of US small businesses say owners should not be able to deny goods or services to LGBT customers. And about 55% of the 500 businesses surveyed said owners should not be allowed to deny wedding-related services. Additionally, about 55% of owners who identified as Republican and 62% of those who identified as Christian also opposed denying goods or services. This is not the first time a majority of small-business owners has expressed opposition to discrimination against LGBT customers through religious freedom laws. In April, 53% said they would not support such laws in their states, according to a Manta poll. (The Small Business Majority poll was also conducted in April.) Both polls were conducted weeks after Indiana passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed business to refuse service to same-sex couples. After a nationwide uproar, the bill was amended to clarify that it could not be used to discriminate against anyone. The poll released on Monday found that 59% of small-business owners said they would “oppose a law that allows any individual, association or business to legally refuse service to anyone based on religious belief”. About 45% of Republican respondents and 54% of Christians would oppose such laws. Religious freedom laws became a hot issue again after the supreme court decision in Obergefell v Hodges. Some Republican presidential hopefuls said they supported such laws. In a statement in response, the leading GOP candidate for 2016, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, said Americans with opposing views should be able to live side by side. “It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate,” he said. But business owners who have exercised their religious freedom as guaranteed by such laws have come under public scrutiny. A pizzeria in Indiana whose owners said they would not cater same-sex marriages received a number of negative Yelp reviews and had to temporarily close. A florist in Washington who refused to sell flowers to a same-sex couple was fined $1,000 and is facing a consumer protection lawsuit. Such owners have also received support and encouragement – sometimes financial. Both the Washington florist and the Indiana pizzeria were able to raise funds through GoFundMe. The campaign for Memories Pizza raised almost $850,000. Related: Fargo café praised after 'banning' GOP lawmakers in fight for gay rights But refusals to provide services and goods based on beliefs can work both ways. In April, the Red Raven Espresso Parlor in Fargo, North Dakota, banned lawmakers who opposed an anti-discrimination bill unless they were “accompanied by a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual, queer, intersex or asexual person”. In response, Republican state representative Jim Kasper, who voted against the bill, said the coffee shop had “the perfect right to refuse anyone they want”. It seems, however, that most small-business owners just want to serve and hire. About six in 10 of those polled believe they and their colleagues should not be able to fire or refuse to hire LGBT people based on their religious beliefs, and eight in 10 support a federal law banning such discrimination. (Currently, federal law does not protect employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.) About two-thirds of surveyed companies do not have policies protecting LGBT employees. Those that do have such policies say they were put in place because all customers and employees should be treated equally, because it’s the right thing to do, and because it makes it easier to attract and retain workers. Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the historic case that legalized same-sex marriage across the US, says he will “continue to fight for equality for the LGBT community”. “Even now with marriage equality – in some states, someone could get married and the next day put their wedding photo on their desk at work [and] they could be fired. They could lose their job,” he told the Guardian. “There’s a lot of work left to do. I intend to be involved in that.” |