Local Printer in Washington refuses to print flyer for gay nightclub because it goes against their Christian morals. They said it was nothing against homosexuals. They just didn't want to promote the "lifestyle."

view details
Oddly, no printjob for gay
nightclub due to "lifestyle."
Now there is a first.
By Maurice Lacunza

A local printer in Kent, Washington, south of Seattle, refused to print a flyer for a new gay nightclub, Diesel, planning for a grand opening later this month. The printer accepted the order but when the owner found out it was a gay venue, he said no. He said it went against their Christian morals. As reported in The Stranger, the club owners received an email from a female employee that said:
"Not that we're against homosexuals at all. But because knowing that our printed products will be advertising and promoting the kind of lifestyle that goes against our morals is something that he (the owner) can't bring himself to do."
view details
Drag club owner arm wrestles
with printer man. Loser has to give
the winner the best printjob
they ever had

The representative from Access Printed Media said that they do not have any written policies regarding what and who they will print for. However, she said that "We're a small business owned by a small conservative Christian family and I'm sorry, but we have values and we can print whatever we want." The local ACLU was contacted and they said that it is a state law that businesses can turn down orders but that they must not legally discriminate against persons based on their sexual orientation. Equal Rights of Washington said that it would not be tolerated if Access Printed Media decided to not print flyers for Jews, Blacks, or Latinos. 

view details
Lady wasn't supposed to
tell the real reason for
not giving gays a good printjob
The owner of Access issued a statement that the representative should not have sent that email because it was unauthorized. The statement said that they wish to cause no harm and they hope that no one will harm them because of this. This writer tried to make contact with Access Printed Media and discovered that their website was no longer available. Repeated phone calls were not even answered. I tried at 3 pm today, Thursday, and no one picked up the phone at all. I suspect that the owner is afraid of the backlash. I wanted to speak to the owner and give him a chance to explain his position on the allegation that he was violating anti-discrimination laws. Apparently Access Printed Media is fearing retribution and is blocking access to their company by taking down the website and not answering the phone.

view details
Gotprint.net measures club
owner for really great printjob
In the end, (no pun intended) the owners of gay club Diesel found another printer, Gotprint.net, to print the flyer that was deemed too immoral to print. Luckily we have The Stranger magazine which  has reprinted the flyer in all of it's newspapers and it can be found here. You can decide if it is too immoral for print.

view details
A quick check with Jesus
revealed nothing about printjobs.
Something about feeding the hungry
and taking care of orphans.
What do you think? Should it legal or ethically permissible for private businesses to discriminate against gay people? Can businesses who offer services to the public legally deny their services for reasons based on race, creed, handicap or sexual orientation? The laws of Washington state say no to discrimination. What is your opinion?

Comments

  1. Hello, again! I thought I'd stop by and kick the tires of your weblog to see if it held oxygenation! And indeed it does at that! LOL!

    You're more than welcome to visit my humble weblog whenever you like.

    http://ohioan4truth.blogspot.com/

    When I have more time I shall share some thoughts with you about the mysteries of the intertubes and such! LOL! Until then, have a very pleasant day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. From Current.com: jackshin in response to
    Omle_Du_Fromage:
    Sexuality is not a protected class. I believe that is the legal basis for those who support the merchant

    However, the Federal Civil Rights act guarantees all people the right to "full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation,

    And even though sexuality is not a protected class, a private company open to the public can only rightly refuse service if the exclusion was to protect a legitimate business interest.

    There is nothing in the printer's statement that suggests he felt his business would suffer from printing the posters. The FCR rulings are rather clear, and most state constitutions go even further by making "arbitrary discrimination" unlawful.

    Simply put, a business cannot arbitrary discriminate based on party affiliation, job or sexual perference. You have to serve republicans, police officers, and gays.

    ReplyDelete
  3. jackshin said:

    Regarding the primary argumet: the right of business owner to refuse service There is a big difference between what some are implying, which is catering too a proclivity, and the discrimination against a group of people. A business can have a policy that they only do chrisitian themes. A business can refuse service because they don't like you. ---Bars that don't cater to punk rock music, ---muslim cab drivers that don't provide service to customers because they have alcohol, (its against their religion to do so) ----Fox TV refusing to run Move-on.org commercials during the Super Bowl. This is all legal. However, "discrimination refers to the treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit." The owner's reason for his refusal was because the posters promoted homosexual lifestyle. Lifestyle is code for sexuality. You could not as much separate homosexuality from lifestyle as one could separate christians from church service. And even if you believe homosexuality is a choice, well then so is religion. In this case, the customer owned a gay bar, he was gay, and he was promoting his gay business. The print shop owner did in fact refuse to conduct business based on the customer’s membership with a class of people. Personally, if libertarians believe no one can force them to do something, then who will be left to protect their right to travel, commerce, and fair treatment. But if you insist, then move to Somalia.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UtopianSky said:
    You say:
    " I find it ironic when gays call themselves christians."

    Because there is nothing within the Bible that is against homosexuality.
    Nothing in the Bible condemns adult consenting relationships
    with members of the same sex.
    Passages condemning men trying to rape angels
    have been used to condemn homosexuality.
    Passages condemning men being with male temple prostitutes
    have been used to condemn homosexuality.
    Passages condemning men being with male child prostitutes
    have been used to condemn homosexuality.
    There are even gay love stories in the Bible- like David and Jonathan.

    You say:
    " If you truly believe yourself a christian then you should live by ALL that is christian. Or look for somewhere else for the meaning of life"

    This is impossible because there is no one definition of what it is to be Christian.

    You know there are white-supremacist Christian Churches, and all-black Christian Churches. Both are using the same book as their guiding light, yet come to VASTLY different conclusions about what it says.

    Religious people have their beliefs first, and then force those beliefs into how they read scripture. They ignore what goes against their beliefs, and reinterpret other things to conform to their beliefs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice site. Covered all day today activities .
    Thanks for sharing this news.
    speciality chemicals companies in india

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment