RIGHTS: They go both ways
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 13 years, 4 months AGO
“No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”
— Abraham Lincoln
The Task Force on Equality should be careful about what they advocate. The day could come where some of the “protected” lifestyles they support are found to be in conflict with current mores and are then subordinated to new “rights”!
In their formal statement, the Task Force premise contains contradictions: It protects some group’s rights by relegating others. Wood and Stewart do not address all the rights of all people, only that certain life styles should have the right to freedom from discrimination. Their premise is that select life style groups should have the right to use the power of law to force others to accept and validate their beliefs. They want acceptance and validation not caring if this “accommodation” causes loss of freedoms in others. Equality for everyone?
When laws or codes are enacted that take a position of favoring one persons rights over another, how can you call it Equality? When government says I have no right to determine who I rent to or who I employ, my rights are subordinated. This is favoritism, not accommodation, and violates MY RIGHTS under the Constitution.
What the Task Force is saying is: MY rights and beliefs are protected as long as they meet status quo. When the “protected” lifestyle groups rights are in conflict with my beliefs, the protected groups take priority regardless of the violation of my rights.
When a person’s Bible indicates some lifestyles are sinful and if that person is “forced” by law to support those lifestyles, they are compromised in their beliefs. True Equality means EVERYONE is to be treated with respect and not have lifestyle groups hold power over others. A Catholic hospital has the right to refuse to give abortions even though abortions are a right under our current laws. The person seeking the procedure has alternate locations where their “rights” are protected and yet the hospital still maintains its core values. It is not necessary to “order” by law the Church to violate its principles.
I am not being judgmental, and support YOUR RIGHT to your lifestyle. But I offer that support only if YOU in turn respect my rights. The rule is simple: You have a right to your lifestyle as long as it does not harm others. If the law forces me to accept ways of life into my home and my business that are against my core beliefs, this condition is not met.
I wish only for our society to truly support freedom for us all. A society with a level playing field; one that respects EVERYONE’S core beliefs without governmental interference and mandatory compliance as guaranteed by our Constitution. Subordinating my beliefs to yours is not Equality for Everyone.
Best regards to good paper!
JOHN M. CLARK
Coeur d’Alene