ABOUT THE COLUMNIST
Gracie Bonds Staples is an award-winning journalist who has been writing for daily newspapers since 1979, when she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. She joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2000 after stints at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Sacramento Bee, Raleigh Times and two Mississippi dailies. Staples was recently promoted to Senior Features Enterprise Writer. Look for her columns Thursdays and Saturdays in Living and alternating Sundays in Metro.
There’s a scene in the “Cracking the Codes” documentary about race in which an African-American woman recalls ordering food at an Asian restaurant and the waiter telling her that “we don’t serve you people.”
It’s a fascinating look at the system of racial inequity that challenges us to build a world that works for everyone.
There’s no indication when the exchange at the restaurant took place, but you get the feeling it had to be in the 1960s or long before and then you read about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and the recent passage of the state’s controversial “religious freedom” law.
I know Georgia has been wrestling with its own version of this legislation, but I was a tad late to the controversy in the Hoosier State. When I finally tuned in late Saturday, I couldn't help but remember that moment in Shakti Butler's "Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity" and the restaurant sit-ins launched in 1960 by four black college students.
And Sunday when I heard Pence’s reaction to the public outrage, his refusal to answer “whether it would be illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians,’’ I had visions of the newly elected Alabama Gov. George Wallace vowing “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.”
Pence didn’t hesitate to say, however, he wouldn’t be changing the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act even though its critics say it allows business owners to discriminate against members of the LGBT community.
“We’re not going to change the law,” Pence told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”
My reaction was as swift as the law’s critics, among them business and political leaders who say that it is anti-gay and will drive away business. Even the NCAA, which hosts the Final Four there this weekend, has said the law goes against what higher education and America are all about.
I never thought I’d say this, but I agree with Sir Charles Barkley. They ought to yank the tournament from the state.
“As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states’ cities,” Barkley said.
On Sunday, Stephanopoulos couldn’t get a yes or no answer when he asked Pence “if a florist in Indiana refuses to serve a gay couple at their wedding, is that legal now in Indiana?, but by Tuesday morning, the governor was backpedaling.
“This law doesn’t give businesses the right to deny services to anyone,” Pence told reporters.
Pence also urged lawmakers in his state to pass legislation making that clear, but you have to wonder whether he is reacting to public pressure or speaking his conscience.
I hope it is the latter. I hope he makes this right.
They say hindsight is 20-20, but it would appear that Pence hadn’t taken that backward glance when he signed this legislation. If he had, he’d know better.
No matter where you stand on issues of sexual orientation, there is no good reason to refuse service to anyone, not even in the name of religious liberty.
One of my favorite hymns is “Just as I Am,” the song that became the altar call in the Billy Graham crusades. It is a reminder that no matter how “poor, wretched, blind” we are, God stands with open arms ready to accept us.
So why is it some Christians are willing to shun and even refuse to serve an entire group of people simply because they disagree with their lifestyle?
It’s worth saying here that Indiana isn’t alone. A federal version of the religious freedom law was enacted in 1993, but dozens of states have passed their own versions since then, including one passed unanimously in Illinois. To the state’s credit, it added specific protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation several years later.
The backlash in Indiana didn't surprise Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, an organization that works to advance fairness, safety and opportunity for the LGBT community.
“Basic fairness and valuing diversity is something that the corporate community there has not only embraced but is taking the lead on,” Graham told me.
He believes that the law undercuts basic tenets of fairness, serves to further divide us and is a vehicle to discriminate.
"The backlash we've seen is exactly what we would see here in Georgia if our law would pass without including strong anti-discrimination protections," Graham said.
Here’s Graham’s other big concern: Georgia is one of only three states that does not have a statewide civil rights law.
I can think of a couple of life-death exceptions where a “religious freedom” law could rightly apply, but baking wedding cakes and making floral arrangements aren’t among them. Wouldn’t we all fare better if we’d just look over our shoulders and consider our past mistakes?
I mentioned the sit-ins. Those four black kids only wanted a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee.
Do we really want to look with hatred across counters again?
