In the Washington Post, Jacqueline L. Salmon writes about the conflict of rights between those who condemn homosexuality for religious reasons and the gay people they serve (or refuse to serve) in their communities:
Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom.
The lawsuits have resulted from states and communities that have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those laws have created a clash between the right to be free from discrimination and the right to freedom of religion, religious groups said, with faith losing.
[…]“People seem to say that if you enter the world of commerce, you lose all your First Amendment rights” to free exercise of religion, said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization that has represented several businesses. “They…have become nothing more than vending machines, and the government can dictate the conditions under which they dispense their goods and services.”
Read the full article here.