Arizona's new anti-gay law.

[Ben Kenobi]

So the gay kid born in rural America should just be run out of town by bigots or be forced to hide their sexuality?

Forced to hide their sexuality? What business transactions over the course of the day require them to disclose their sexuality?

Remember that in many of these small towns there's only 1 of most services

I've been to small towns like that, similar to where I grew up. I've never seen anyone turned away from the corner store precisely because of this understanding, unless there was a prior incident (theft, etc).

Rural areas have a different understanding of hospitality, precisely because they are rural. There's an obligation on the part of the community to provide assistance in times when someone is stranded. You won't see this in the city because the city doesn't have to care about such things.

Are you 100% cool with what boils down to forced relocation for homosexuals and ethnic minorities from many places in small-town America?

As a minority myself, the worst cases of prejudice I have endured came from city folk. Especially certain city folks who relocated to smaller more rural areas. They simply don't understand how hospitality works in the community. Most are like Mr. Fun, they know how the world works, and the ignorant hicks do not, they are bringing greater knowledge and understanding to the peasantry.

[Ben Kenobi]

Passing laws that let anyone discriminate for any reason is obviously not fine (to anyone posting here, except Ben likely).

Freedom of association is a principle enshrined in the US constitution. Ultimately, bills that violate freedom of association will fail. You cannot force two people to associate when they do not wish to do so, nor can you force a business owner to provide a service that he finds offensive.

You can close down said businesses through force of law. You can deprive them of their resources, you can abuse force to unjust ends - but the ultimate end of freedom of association will prevail.

[Kidlicious]

I'm not worried about the cake. I am worried about the law. If you want a law that specifically says bakers can choose not to bake wedding cakes, that's fine. Absurd, but fine.

Passing laws that let anyone discriminate for any reason is obviously not fine (to anyone posting here, except Ben likely).

So we're in a situation where we can plunge 50 state legislatures into an never-endign battle over what types of services you can discriminate against ethnic groups/sexuality about and which you can't, or we could just not waste a ton of time and money to enable people to make stupid economic decisions that harm others that virtually no one on either side cared about a year ago.

I vote for the second option.

This is mostly about gay marriage. I don't really know why it makes people so crazy. Marriage isn't all that great, but people on both sides think it is.

I don't think this law was going to lead to wide spread discrimination, but I agree it's stupid.

[Felch]

Mind altering drugs = choice
Being gay = not a choice
Yeah, I'm not surprised people are more concerned with gay rights than your ability to smoke a plant.

The first is an action and the other is a matter of genetics. But I could easily flip it.

Engaging in homosexual acts = choice
Preferring marijuana to alcohol = not a choice

You see how that's a bull**** and meaningless argument? The only question in the end is whether the act itself should be criminalized. And there's no reason to criminalize marijuana.

[Ben Kenobi]

Felch, don't you understand. Sodomy is a natural right while smoking the demon weed is sinful! It must be eradicated if the health of the nation is to be preserved.

You're on the wrong side of history here!

[100% Wolf]

The first is an action and the other is a matter of genetics. But I could easily flip it.

Engaging in homosexual acts = choice
Preferring marijuana to alcohol = not a choice

You see how that's a bull**** and meaningless argument? The only question in the end is whether the act itself should be criminalized. And there's no reason to criminalize marijuana.

I see how your argument is meaningless bull****. Being gay is not at all analogous to "preferring marijuana to alcohol". Seriously there's a huge difference between loving another human being and getting high which is why a lot of people care more about gay rights than about legalizing marijuana. (And just to be clear neither alcohol nor marijuana should be illegal.)

[Ben Kenobi]

Seriously there's a huge difference between loving another human being and getting high.

You're both wrong. Being Gay is all about getting the high from sex, not from God. God is the highest high and He blows away all the others. Therefore we should ban the demon weed and sodomy for depriving people of the true understanding of God.

[100% Wolf]

Whatever he wrote it's probably retarded and unfunny.

[Ben Kenobi]

I thought sex was supposed to be more not less pleasurable than dope.

[Felch]

I see how your argument is meaningless bull****. Being gay is not at all analogous to "preferring marijuana to alcohol". Seriously there's a huge difference between loving another human being and getting high which is why a lot of people care more about gay rights than about legalizing marijuana. (And just to be clear neither alcohol nor marijuana should be illegal.)

They're both rooted in genetics. I don't choose to prefer weed, I prefer weed because my brain is wired that way.

I also don't think that gay rights are incumbent on loving another human being. I see nothing wrong with gay sluts having sex for fun outside of a committed relationship. Their private lives are not for me to judge, whether they're in love or not. The act itself is harmless, so there's no reason for it to be criminalized. Motivations are difficult to prove, and should matter less than the acts themselves. If an act is not harmful, then it hardly matters what your state of mind was.

To flip it around, take a harmless behavior like Civ, and take a psychotic attitude, like winning a conquest victory. You might have aggressive thoughts and feelings, but you're only destroying pretend empires. So there's no reason for anybody to interfere. Same thing with weed and homosexuality. It shouldn't matter what your motivations are, only that the actions themselves are harmless. That's reason enough for a free society to decriminalize something.

[100% Wolf]

You could claim preferring chocolate ice cream over vanilla is rooted in genetics but that wouldn't make it as significant as being gay. Of course it's stupid to jail people for something as minor as smoking marijuana but telling people not to smoke marijuana generally isn't as onerous as telling gay people that it's wrong to be gay.

[Kidlicious]

Homosexual activity is not criminalized. I don't even know why I bother to say that. People will just go on as if it were.

[MrFun]

I see how your argument is meaningless bull****. Being gay is not at all analogous to "preferring marijuana to alcohol". Seriously there's a huge difference between loving another human being and getting high which is why a lot of people care more about gay rights than about legalizing marijuana. (And just to be clear neither alcohol nor marijuana should be illegal.)

[MrFun]

They're both rooted in genetics. I don't choose to prefer weed, I prefer weed because my brain is wired that way.

I also don't think that gay rights are incumbent on loving another human being. I see nothing wrong with gay sluts having sex for fun outside of a committed relationship. Their private lives are not for me to judge, whether they're in love or not. The act itself is harmless, so there's no reason for it to be criminalized. Motivations are difficult to prove, and should matter less than the acts themselves. If an act is not harmful, then it hardly matters what your state of mind was.

To flip it around, take a harmless behavior like Civ, and take a psychotic attitude, like winning a conquest victory. You might have aggressive thoughts and feelings, but you're only destroying pretend empires. So there's no reason for anybody to interfere. Same thing with weed and homosexuality. It shouldn't matter what your motivations are, only that the actions themselves are harmless. That's reason enough for a free society to decriminalize something.

Please, stop being an embarrassment to yourself and your family with these kinds of posts.

[Ben Kenobi]

Please, stop being an embarrassment to yourself and your family with these kinds of posts.

The Queen is not amused. You've really done it now, Felch.