Today we look at the case, heard last week in the U.S. Supreme Court, of the Colorado baker who refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding.
The case pits competing American values of freedom of speech (and freedom from compelled speech) and the principle of tolerance and equal access in the public spheres of life.
It’s a very significant case, the first to deal with on-the-ground ramifications of the 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide, and it will lay out a powerful precedence going forward.
Jeff and Corey have a split decision. What do you think?
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About Jeff Salzman
Jeff Salzman worked with Ken Wilber for several years in building the Integral Institute. He is a co-founder of Boulder Integral, the first bricks-and-mortar venue dedicated to the development of integral consciousness. These days Jeff provides integrally-inspired commentary on politics and culture on Integral Life and The Daily Evolver.
About Corey deVos
Corey W. deVos is editor and producer of Integral Life. He has worked for Integral Institute/Integal Life since Spring of 2003, and has been a student of integral theory and practice since 1996. Corey is also a professional woodworker, and many of his artworks can be found in his VisionLogix art gallery.
Comments
Just saw this about a week after one of my gay clients mentioned the upcoming Supreme Court ruling…. I told him I was on the bakers side, and I hope he knows me well enough to know that this has nothing whatsoever to do with my feelings about gays in general. He actually agreed in one sense, and admitted that a part of him was just angry at the baker. I’m about as non-homophobic as they come, but I also feel the most appropriate way to go here is to acknowledge the fact that the sexual revolution IS winning…I personally don’t feel that gays have reason, any longer, to feel powerless. Places like Alabama may be an exception…I don’t claim to be an expert….but generally, I feel that there are many ways in which they could handle the situation without denying the rights of others….and that the healthiest way to go for them is to exercise the power and make use of the acceptance that they have attained, rather than regressing into the “safety zone” of a victimhood that may have been appropriate at one time, but may not be any more? I hope this doesn’t sound harsh. I mean it to be empowering. I don’t feel the comparison to African Americans (in the hotel/motel scenario) is an apples-to-apples one, because there was (and still is) quite a bit more of a power imbalance between them and whites than exists for gays….at least from what I can see. I will admit, I live in Lawrence, KS where I rarely, if ever, see any evidence of homophobia…. It may exist, but I feel there is enough acceptance that I think it’s holding any homophobia in check.