Once Again, Gay Bashing For Jesus

You must have heard about the Houston landscapers who refused to work for a gay couple. A same-gender couple simply called up the landscapers to do some work for them. On the phone they scheduled an appointment, but the landscapers later emailed the gay would-be clients to cancel the appointments and to say they didn't do business with gay people.

Of course, the notion that they don't do business with gay people is ridiculous. The man and wife landscaping team figured out that these two men were gay because they lived together and one referred to the other as "my partner." But how many bisexuals, closeted gay people, and single gay people who simply never bring it up do they do business with?

And here's the thing. Let's say you've never read a book or taken a psychology class or had a close friendship with someone who was gay. Let's say in the area of sexual diversity you are completely clueless and you have decided that people who are attracted to others of their same gender are somehow flawed. This means you can't take their money? This means you can't help beautify their property? What stand have you really taken? What point have you really made?

Let's say you aren't just homophobic. Let's pretend that you believe in abstinence before marriage, you disagree with drinking alcohol, and you somehow beleive that Jesus is your ticket to the afterlife Country Club. Does that mean you won't work for single people who have active sex lives? Does that mean you won't work for people who have a well stocked wine rack or beer in the fridge? Does that mean you won't work for a Buddhist, an atheist, or a Muslim? Doing business only with people who share your beliefs, prejudices, and world view could make you pretty poor pretty fast.

I'm sorry that Mr. and Mrs. Self-Righteous Landscaper aren't comfortable with "out" gay people. I'm glad they are so financially secure they don't need or want gay people's money. But I hope they aren't fooling themselves into believe their actions were about morality. Their heterosexist, unenlightened, and frankly unreasonable choice to discriminate against a gay couple only served to perpetuate ill will and hurt feelings. Even if they did it for Jesus, they still only added a bit more hatred to the world. I'm sure Jesus could do without that.