When a pastor lets it be known that he does not condemn but accepts LGBT neighbors, he hears stories that you won't hear otherwise. I hear these stories. About the loan officer who estimated the house improvement project for a gay couple at below half of its value so they couldn't get a loan from that bank. Or the talented worker who was told by a friend in the corporate office that he won't get promoted because of his sexual orientation. And the renter who is about to sign the lease when the landlord realizes she's gay and reneges. Or the couple sitting ignored at a table until they quietly leave the restaurant. And the couple walking down the street holding hands until they are jumped and beaten. LGBT people have a lot of stories that will break your heart.
Actually the saddest stories are the ones about what families and churches do to people.
In Fayetteville, we can do something about that first paragraph of indignities. We can ensure equal rights for LGBT neighbors by extending to them the same civil rights we have for other minority groups (race, national origin, religion, disability) -- protection from discrimination in housing, employment and access to public businesses. "Churches, religious schools and daycare facilities, and religious organizations of any kind shall be exempt." That's what Fayetteville's Ordinance 5781 is about. Early voting is going on now. The election is next Tuesday.
How would it work? Let's use the illustration of the baker who refuses on religious grounds to bake a cake for a gay wedding.
The gay couple would have to file a claim of discrimination within 90 days. Within four days the city will initiate an informal mediation or conciliation between the parties. That conversation will be entirely non-public and confidential.
If mediation is impossible, the complaint will be referred to a Civil Rights Commission of seven persons: two from the business community, two owners or managers of rental property, one person with experience in human resources or employment law, and two citizens at-large, including one who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Both parties may offer evidence. If the commission concludes the discrimination complaint is valid, it will submit its finding to the city prosecutor, who retains independent discretion on whether to file a violation of the ordinance. If someone is found guilty in district court of a first-time violation, the penalty is up to $100. The violation is neither a misdemeanor nor a felony. It is a fine, like a traffic ticket. The maximum fine for subsequent acts of discrimination is $500.
The gay couple cannot sue the baker in civil court under the provisions of this ordinance. City code does not give standing for civil lawsuits. The ordinance makes no changes in laws with regard to bathrooms. These are false fears that have been circulated by the opposition organized against the ordinance.
As a Biblical Christian, I find the baker's scruples unconvincing. The Christian scriptures explicitly forbid remarriage after divorce if the former spouse is still alive. They also forbid sexual intimacy before marriage. But you don't hear of Christian bakers screening their customers to make sure none of them are living together and that neither party is divorced.
In the Christian Gospels, Jesus says nothing about homosexuality. In the entire Bible, there are eight "clobber passages" that are typically sited as condemning homosexual relationships. Several of those passages address cultic practices of temple prostitution. All of the passages assume unnatural activity by heterosexuals. (Baptist Pastor Bruce Lowe of Arkadelphia wrote a helpful study -- stpaulsfay.org/LettertoLouise.pdf)
The Bible doesn't address the issue of two mature persons of same-sex orientation who wish to make a life-long commitment of faithful, monogamous love, other than the hundreds of verses about love, faithfulness, and kindness. In fact, more and more Christians are seeing the "fruit of the Spirit" in the lives and loving relationships of our LGBT neighbors. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and temperance. There is no law against such things." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Individual religious beliefs are so diverse that conforming business and civic practices to the variety of things people can believe would create chaos. Our Constitution forbids the establishment of any religion. It also allows religions to practice without government interference. Our laws also allow individuals to be free from public discrimination. The civil rights ordinance is situated in the mainstream of our American heritage. It protects vulnerable people from discrimination in housing, employment and public businesses, and it exempts religious institutions from violating their teachings.
The ordinance also fits Jesus' teaching that we should empty ourselves in service to the other, loving our neighbor as ourselves. Fear not! Choose love.
Lowell Grisham is an Episcopal priest who lives in Fayetteville. Email him at [email protected].
Commentary on 09/01/2015