(ha ha, here I go, getting in trouble in Blogworld again. Believe it or not, that Dooce post is STILL drawing commenters. *sigh*)
So, I'm reading the local paper this morning, and there's this article about local therapists offering free "marriage checkups" for Valentine's Day, and blah blah blah and the article goes on and on and then I hit this part:
"Reeves says she doesn't work with homosexuals, just married couples or those in a long-term relationship. She's a faith-based Christian counselor, she said, and "most homosexuals will not want to come to me and hear they're living in sin.""
(!)
Oh boy. My first reaction was, "How DARE she?! How DARE she turn away gay people?"
And then I was thinking about it, and I was all, "Well, if she really thinks gay people are evil, then I guess it's her right to not have them as clients." But THEN I was all, "But what if it was black people she was turning away? Would THAT be all right? Of course not!"
There was a similar hoo-hah around here a while back, when gay marriage was first legalized in New York, and a local town clerk said she would not issue marriage licenses to gay people, because it was against her religion.
I just ... I don't know. I think gay people have just as much right to be married and miserable as the rest of us. And if their marriage hits the skids, they should be able to go for counseling, just like the rest of us. But what if the therapist thinks gay people are sinners and going to hell? Is it okay for her to turn them away? Should she be FORCED to treat gay people? What if she was a medical doctor, instead of a therapist? Would it be okay for her to refuse to treat them then? I mean, of COURSE not! But she's NOT a medical doctor, she's just a marriage therapist, so does that make it okay? Is prejudice a valid reason for refusing to counsel someone? And as far as that whole "living in sin" thing goes, don't Christians believe that any two people who are living together without benefit of marriage are "living in sin"? But she says that she WILL treat "those in a long-term relationship". Isn't that, like, splitting hairs here? Like, it's okay if you've been "living in sin", as long as you're not gay, and you've been doing it "long-term"? I'm not sure where she draws the line, there.
Frankly, I think she's crazy, and wrong. But if I was gay, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't WANT to go to a therapist who hated me for what I was, so maybe she's right to be up-front about it? But is that even legal? Aren't there, like, laws against discrimination?
Man, now I'm just confused. What do you think?
7 comments:
The therapist could have just tacked the word Christian on to her job description and SHUT UP. Sad to say. The only people who advertise themselves as Christian are ones who are intolerant. Gays would have the sense to stay away from a "Christian" marriage counselor.
Really? "Christian", at least as applied to job descriptions, is a code word for "I hate gays"? I honestly did not know that. Thanks, queen! Now I know who to avoid. Because anybody who hates gays is not someone I want to hire, obv.
And I'm not sure if I made that clear in the post - I would not patronize anyone who refused service to gays. I just wondered if the therapist had a legal right to refuse to treat gay people.
interesting--What irks me is that pharmacists can refuse (on religious grounds, of course) to dispense birth control.
What was that lie I heard in church when I was a kid? Something about the golden rule, don't judge people, etc.
As a private business owner who is not running a public accomodation (like a restaurant, movie theater, hotel), she probably does not have to take their money. Likewise, the New York Civil Rights Act and other laws bars employment discrimination in most cases, but not service discrimination by private business owners providing non-critical (read, not hospitals) services. It's a loophole in the laws that "Christian" business owners have increasingly exploited to bully and shame people who don't share their religious beliefs. However, these actions can be challenged, as in the instance you cite, when there's an obvious arbitrary inconsistency (will consult with hets that shack up but not with gays) that serves no legitimate business purpose.
- Bridgett
I also support gay marriage.
The bible-thumping therapist does have the right to turn away any business she doesn't want, provided she's a private practitioner. Just don't come whinging to me when you lose business you want due to your bigotry.
The town clerk does NOT have the right to refuse to issue marriage licenses. She's employed by the gov't to perform tasks that are gov't-approved. She can march in all the anti-gay rallies she wants to on her own time. On taxpayer time, do your damn job.
One of the reasons we stopped going to church in our small town is the pervasive anti-gay mentality here. Intolerance all around is a problem here, anyway.
I agree with you 100% on all of it, including the confusion.
Been thinking some more about this ... I used to live in an apartment building where the landlord eventually stopped renting to people on public assistance because they always brought in cockroaches and wrecked the apartments ... I remember thinking "Yay - No more of that welfare trash in here" - Maybe I'm as guilty of prejudice as that therapist ... Yeah, I guess I am, because if I owned an apartment building, there is NO WAY I would rent to someone on welfare. Uh-oh.
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