Sorry not sorry, CALLIGRAPHY LADIES
And now, a tale of pain and suffering. Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib calligraphy studio in Phoenix, have been told by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Karen Mullins that it is not within their rights to refuse to write fancy letters for queers, just because Duka and Koski believe Jesus says queers are EW YUCK. You see, Phoenix has a city ordinance that says business owners, even Jesus-Loving Calligraphy Bigots, are not allowed to discriminate against the homosexuals:
On Monday, Judge Karen Mullins rejected the artists’ claim that being required to serve same-sex couples violated their freedoms of speech and religion. She denied them a preliminary injunction as the case proceeds, sending a not-so-subtle hint that their pro-discrimination claims aren’t going to get very far.
“Plaintiffs confuse conduct with expressive speech,” she wrote. “The ordinance only precludes Plaintiffs from refusing to sell products or provide services to same-sex couples and from stating that same-sex couples are unwelcome as customers.”
But what about their Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs? Don't those count?
Mullins was ... unimpressed by the argument that designing such wedding invitations would violate the artists’ religious beliefs. They had admitted that they would sell any premade non-custom product to anyone; it was only a conflict if they had to print two male names or two female names. “The printing of names does not hinder in any way Plaintiffs independent exercise of its religious belief by attending the church of their choice, engaging in religious activities or functions, and expressing their beliefs on their business website and literature or in their personal lives,” Mullins wrote. Duka and Koski “failed to assert even an incidental burden on the exercise of their religion.”
Just like that mean federal judge said to Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, when she was arguing that issuing marriage licenses AT HER GOVERNMENT JOB was a burden on her freedom of religion. That judge said (we paraphrase) that Davis was free to go to church and believe whatever the hell she wants -- she just couldn't discriminate AT HER JOB. Same goes for these women and whatever ugly Comic Sans letter-writin' they do, for their business.
What pain and suffering have these women experienced? Did their hands break while they were trying to write "Happy buttfuckin'!" in fancy-writin' style for Kevin and Dale, who met on Grindr?
No, actually not, though they are free to copy that from Wonket if they need to. These women actually have never outright refused service to anyone -- oh, they've gotten a couple of inquiries from Homogaywad-Americans, but they didn't respond. They just wanted to be granted a Special Right to discriminate, that's all. They want to be able to put a thingie on their website that says they run a Christian business and God Hates Fags or whatever. God, people like this are fucking tiresome.
[wonkbar]<a href="https: //wonkette.substack.com/p/gay-hating-oregon-cake-bakers-satan-cancelled-our-gofundme-no-not-kidding"></a>[/wonkbar]We've written about whining special snowflake conservatives like this ONE MILLION TIMES. It is so very 2015, when every baker, pizza-maker and porn fluffer who had accepted Republican Jesus as their personal lord and savior was making beaucoups bigot bucks from GoFundMe-type things, because they had been "discriminated against" by gays who just wanted to be treated like any other couple about to walk down the aisle.
None of these wedding services people are being asked to participate in ceremonies that go against their beliefs, despite their Oh-So-Sad protests about how squirting some frosting on top of a cake is their divinely inspired artistic expression. It is not an expression of these two women's walk with the Lord if they get paid money to get out their fancy nancy pens and write "Carol and Barb request your presence at their wedding."
It's not part of their regular worship and prayer life if they have to do an invitation that says Blake and Tchad request your presence as they destroy traditional Christian marriage forever, which IS NOT A THING GAY WEDDING INVITATIONS ACTUALLY SAY:
So can we just STFU about this now? Please?
Calligraphy writers. PFFFFFFFFFFFT ! Fuck off.
University of Southern California libelz!
My stuffed Stitch understands, as does my multiple stuffed Quatchi sasquatches.