Fashion Designers Are Boycotting Melania Trump. Shouldn't Bakers and Florists Have the Same Right?

❝❝Both are examples of associational freedom—the right to make decisions for yourself about how and with whom you spend your time and energy. This includes the right not to take on a client or project that elevates, in your view, a value you disagree with.

The problem is not that Theallet was willing to dress Michelle Obama and isn't willing to dress Melania Trump (which is, like it or not, a form of discrimination). The problem is just how many people don't seem to think that same freedom should be extended to bakery owners, photographers, and other wedding vendors who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds.

As Theallet put it, "we consider our voice an expression of our artistic and philosophical ideals." I suspect Barronelle Stutzman, the white-haired grandmother who owns Arlene's Flowers, feels the same way about her craft. But instead of assuming a live-and-let-live attitude on the matter, Washington state has systematically worked to destroy Stutzman's business unless she agrees to take part in a celebration to which she is morally opposed.❞❞
     — Stephanie Slade

Tags: skimmed ∙ Stephanie Slade ∙ boycott ∙ associational freedom ∙ Sophie Theallet ∙ Melania Trump ∙ Michelle Obama ∙ bakery owners ∙ photographers ∙ wedding vendors ∙ Barronelle Stutzman ∙ Arlene's Flowers ∙ Washington state ∙ short ∙ clipping