John Kasich attacks religious liberty bills, Mississippi, business owners don’t have freedom to say ‘no’ to gay weddings
Ohio governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich criticized Mississippi’s religious freedom law during a CNN town hall event Monday.
“I read about this thing they did in Mississippi where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay. What the hell are we doing in this country?”
“I may not appreciate a certain lifestyle or even approve of it, but I can—but that doesn’t mean I gotta go write a law and figure out how to have another wedge issue,” Kasich said. “We have a Supreme Court ruling, and you know what, let’s move on.”
photo/ donkeyhotey
The governor then seems to contradict himself and the purpose of the bill. “And frankly, if I’m selling cupcakes, why don’t I just sell a cupcake? That’s what I do in commerce. It gets to be a tricky thing about how much you involve somebody against some deeply held belief, but most of the time, I think we can accommodate one another, don’t you?”
Kasich said if he were organizing a same-sex “wedding” and came across a “deep Christian” photographer uncomfortable with participating, Kasich would go “down the street” to another photographer.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” on April 4. The law says that the government cannot compel religious organizations to hire anyone whose conduct violates their religious beliefs, or force religious adoption agencies to place children in the homes of same-sex couples. It also allowed businesses to restrict restrooms and showers to members of the same biological sex.
Kasich also mentioned that he attended a same-sex wedding after the U.S. Supreme Court redefined marriage in all 50 states.
Kasich said on Sunday he “probably” wouldn’t sign a bill keeping men out of women’s restrooms. He said in February that Christian business owners shouldn’t have the same rights as churches when it comes to declining participation in same-sex “weddings.”
Gov. Bryant and others say religious liberty laws do not allow private businesses carte blanche to refuse services on the basis of sexual orientation.
