(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 6, 2015)
Now that same-sex marriages are legal in Kansas—oh, yes, and in the rest of the nation, too—Gov. Sam Brownback is mulling the possibility of reviving a Senate-trashed bill that will allow Kansans to decide whether they want to sell a wedding cake for a same-gender marriage.
“Religious freedom” is the key phrase here, and practically, who is against that?
The concept that Brownback is feeling around to find the handle for is whether there is a way to allow some merchants—and it appears for some reason to be bakers who have the most devoutly held religious objection to same-sex marriages—to not deal with same-gender brides and grooms.
Very practically, there’s a big difference between participating in, attending, maybe even giving gifts to a happy couple whose gender diversity you find…well, lacking, and selling them a product that you sell to everyone else who enters the shop door with cash to spend.
If you’re in a business that deals with the public, well, that’s what you do. We’re wondering whether the governor may be exaggerating the need for religious protection in commerce. Like selling a wedding cake.
Maybe this is a diversion for a governor who isn’t happy about same-sex marriage—Kansas still doesn’t recognize for governmental purposes, say, drivers’ licenses which require a name change due to same-gender marriages. Or, even for state health insurance for those same-gender but legally married couples.
It might just be a political position that is appealing to some number of Republican primary election voters who tend to be the most socially conservative voters who turn out regularly. And, in most districts in Kansas, the winner of the Republican primary generally wins the general election and gets a seat in the House or Senate. That’s just how the numbers break.
But…even serious consideration of a “religious freedom” initiative from the governor will undoubtedly face the same problems that House members saw last year, when they passed a confusing and not-well-understood “religious freedom act” that was apparently aimed at bakers. That bill quickly went away in the Senate when it was learned that it covered public employees—what would happen if a clerk refuses to accept the water bill payment from a gay customer, or the county treasurer refuses to sell you a new license tag because he/she has deeply held religious beliefs about whether some genders should be driving? Yes, public services should be available to, well, anyone in the public, and the attempt to narrow that equal-access to public services by public employees isn’t a starter…
How to protect a business’ owners from liability for refusing to do business with the general public—Brownback’s apparent aim—is both tricky and not-very-Republican sounding. The GOP is the party of commerce, of course, and nowadays, that “consumption” by Kansans, presumably including purchase of wedding cakes, is a key to the state’s budget and its ability to provide services to Kansans of all gender preferences.
And, it seems likely that commercial aspects of a “religious freedom” law will not only cause problems for purchasers of those wedding cakes, but for a bakery employee, who unless he/she owns the shop, refuses to do business that he/she was hired to do. The issue shifts from just doing business to the business of employment law and it just goes on from there…
Seems like if the governor isn’t enthused about same-gender marriages, he might just want to mention it a time or two to supportive groups, but not drag Kansas businesses into this scrap.
Curious to see where this goes for a governor who doesn’t have to stand for re-election again, and for a Legislature that does.