A simple t-shirt
How a loss can inspire a victory
A Kentucky Circuit Court ruled 2–1 yesterday that the Lexington company Hands On Original did not violate the city’s Fairness Ordinance when it refused to honor its own proposal to print t-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival.
I rely on people much smarter than me to do the heavy lifting for legal analysis. Simply put: the holding argument is not the owner’s religious freedom was threatened, but that the text of the Fairness Ordinance does not extend to this specific scenario due to free and compelled speech considerations. Yet this does not hold much weight when the same ruling holds that it would be discriminatory for a baker to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-gender ceremony.
How is it that refusing to print a t-shirt that celebrates LGBT pride is free speech, but refusing to bake a cake that celebrates LGBT marriage is not? It’s a distinction without a difference. Both are expressions that are immutably related to the would-be consumer’s protected class.
The case will certainly proceed to the Kentucky Supreme Court, and perhaps the US Supreme Court.
But in the meantime, we must meet these attacks on LGBTQ Kentuckians on multiple fronts. Kentuckians must nominate leaders for whom gay rights are non-negotiable. These leaders must not shy away from “divisive social issues” because they may make people uncomfortable.
Democrats in Kentucky have played that game for years, and the only real results have been further encroachments on LGBTQ rights and the loss of Democratic majorities.
Instead we must try a different approach. Let’s take the fight across the state, from Paducah to Hazard, as part of a comprehensive portfolio of policies designed to benefit the lives of the most vulnerable. Let’s not be embarrassed by our support of all Kentuckians. Let’s be leaders — let’s have a position, and convince constituents to the validity of that opinion on its merits. Kentuckians yearn for this leadership, and we must support those leaders at every turn.
