Jeb Bush Says Christians Should ‘Absolutely’ Be Allowed To Discriminate Against LGBT Americans

Jeb Bush has been on a major losing streak here lately. First there was his flip-flop on a question about the war in Iraq, followed by his bizarre comment that his Apple Watch could be used to replace Obamacare, and now we have the former Governor of Florida saying he’s perfectly cool with businesses that discriminate against LGBT Americans.

Bush, speaking to David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network on Saturday, was asked a direct question on the issue of same-sex marriage and the recent proliferation in some state of “Religious Freedom Laws.” Brody asked:

“This is more about the vendor issue as it relates to do they want to provide a service for same-sex weddings. Are you okay if they don’t provide those types of services?”

Bush, careening to the far right so quickly that he must have been dizzy, remarked:

“Yes, absolutely if it’s based on a religious belief.”

Jeb then brought up the specific case of Barronelle Stutzman, a florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex marriage ceremony. It was, Bush declared, terrible that Stutzman “might lose her business” for refusing to serve LGBT customers. And he then added:

“A big country, a tolerant country ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs. We should be able to figure this out. This should not be that complicated gosh it is right now.”

It’s not complicated at all, Governor Bush. Allow me to explain it to you: All Americans should have a right to the same benefits and services, plain and simple. If a business serves the public, then that business has no right to claim a religious exemption for serving those the owner may dislike. Or would you rather go back to the days when African-Americans had to use separate bathrooms, could not eat at lunch counters, and had to ride in the back of the bus?

Memo to Jeb Bush and the rest of the GOP: LGBT rights are the civil rights issue of the 21st century, and the more you fight against equality for all Americans, the more you marginalize your already shrinking political party.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.

10 thoughts on “Jeb Bush Says Christians Should ‘Absolutely’ Be Allowed To Discriminate Against LGBT Americans

  1. Then conversely; I demand the right to refuse business and employment to anti-LGBT “Christians” (or any faith and no faith) due to my deeply and sincerely held spiritual and philosophical beliefs and objections to anti-LGBT savagery.

    Oh right; I can’t do that because it is illegal to discriminate against people based on their religious belief and/or affiliation. But these Jim Crow loving barbarians want the special right to discriminate against us. Jim Crow savagery, in any form, will NOT be tolerated. Civilized human beings and REAL Americans do not support this barbarism.

    In the 19th century businesses displayed “No Irish need apply” and “Italian need not apply”. In the 20th century they displayed “No colored allowed” and “Jews not wanted here”. Discrimination was NOT ok then and it was not tolerated and it NOT ok now and will not be tolerated today. I will NOT tolerate “No Gays allowed”. My money is as green as everybody else’s. In 1960; Freedom Rider Rodney Powell led a sit-in at a Walgreens in Nashville, Tennessee because they refused to serve blacks equally to white. Now in his old age, it is being demanded that he accept the same thing being done to him because he is also gay. NO. Absolutely NOT. Unacceptable.

    Your religious liberty is: pray to whatever human made “God” you want, worship in whatever house of worship you want, read whatever religious/spiritual text you want, wear whatever religious/spiritual symbol you want – THAT IS IT, PERIOD! You do NOT have the religious liberty to force, demand, or require others adhere to your religion and its definitions nor do you have the right to harass others with it either.

    A KKK member cannot refuse to serve or employ racial or interracial couples because he or she doesn’t agree with the 1967 Supreme Court ruling, Loving v. Virginia, that struct down interracial marriage bans nation wide the same way the Supreme Court just did with gay marriage bans. You are delusional, ignorant, and arrogant if you do not think the same applies to you.

    If I (as a business owner) cannot refuse to serve or employ anti-LGBT people because it is illegal to discriminate based on personal or religious beliefs, anti-LGBT business owners cannot refuse to serve or employ LGBT people. The laws of this country are required BY LAW to apply to ALL citizens equally or none at all. KKK members cannot refuse service or employment to black people. Neo-Nazis cannot refuse service or employment to Jews. Atheists cannot refuse service or employment to Christians or any other faith. Therefore Anti-LGBT’s cannot refuse service or employment to LGBT’s.

    Can Jenna Lyons, the lesbian creative director and president of J.Crew refuse to sell wedding gowns to anti-LGBT brides? Can LGBT designers at J. Crew or any other company ban their designs from being bought and worn by anti-LGBT people? Can a gay photographer refuse to do the wedding of an anti-gay Christian couple? Can a lesbian waitress refuse to work at a wedding of an anti-gay Christian couple who hired the catering company she is employed at? Can a transgender baker refuse to bake a cake for the wedding of on of the Duggar’s because they are “Christians” whose family has worked to stop or repeal any ordinance that protects transgender people? Facebook is co-owned/founded by a gay man, the other founders/owners supports LGBT rights, and employes hundreds of LGBT’s worldwide; so can Facebook ban anti-LGBT Christians, etc from using Facebook? Twitter supports LGBT rights also, so can they do the same? The CEO of Apple, hand picked by Steve Jobs, is also gay; so can he refuse to cell his technlog t anti-LGBT customers who are going to use that technology to spread demeaning, demonizing, dehumanizing hate against people like him?………. oh right, it’s illegal to refuse service to people based on religious affiliation or belief. So lets sum that last part up; LGBT people WILL serve anti-LGBT dross or be charged with breaking the law but anti-LGBT dross do not have to and cannot be forced to serve LGBT people. JIM CROW SAVAGERY!!!

    • ****The CEO of Apple (Tim Cook), hand picked by Steve Jobs, is also gay; so can he refuse to sell his technology to anti-LGBT customers who are going to use that technology to spread demeaning, demonizing, dehumanizing hate against people like him****

    • If you went to a flower shop to do business and flower shop didnt serve you because of ANY beliefs, why would you continue to want to give them money for services? They should have the right to refuse to serve anyone! Stop crying, you got your way.

      • So Mr. Bush, how do you see these folks being forced to participate in a gay wedding? Because they make the cake? So in that case, if someone sells a gun to a murderer, that person should be held accountable for participating in the murder, right?

  2. Well Mr. Bush this just shows how deeply embedded your ignorance is. I guess the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree. How about as a nation we just discriminate against putting idiots like you into a position to make grown-up decisions.

  3. So you would officiate at a satanism wedding event or a Nazi wedding event if you were a Notary in Florida? How about an Isis themed “death to America” wedding? Maybe you would officiate at a gay wedding for two guys that were vocal avid supporters of NAMBLA?

    So there’s NOTHING you would reject do to your beliefs? Gotta be politically correct. So when they kill and eat puppies at a wedding because they ate dogs back in Korea or China, you’ll be there happily watching?

    • Yupyer I would like to just say , You sir are an idiot! No reason needed it shows clearly in your opinion. Some people will never just get it.

  4. If anyone cannot comply with our country’s laws while doing business, they shouldn’t be in business. Sexual orientation is one of many protected classes of minorities that it is illegal to discriminate against. If you have a religion that you believe tells you that you can’t do business with a particular group of American citizens, you need to find something else to do with your time. You also need to re-think your choice of religion (or stop blaming God for your personal prejudice and admit you’re a bigot).

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