Iowa "Christian" Bakery Broke the Law

One of the latest supposed martyrs of the Christianist far right is Victoria Childress of Victoria’s Cake Cottage in Des Moines, Iowa, who backed out of providing a wedding cake to a couple when she learned - oh, the HORROR!! - that they were a lesbian couple. As KCCI-TV8 reported, Childress defended her bigotry as follows:

Childress said it's her right to refuse to do the cake. "I didn't do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle. It is my right as a business owner. It is my right, and it's not to discriminate against them. It's not so much to do with them, it's to do with me and my walk with God and what I will answer (to) him for," Childress said.

As it turns out, it's NOT Childress right under Iowa law to discriminate in business against those she doesn't like. In fact, it's a criminal offense. Here is the relevant portion of the text of Iowa Code section 216.7(1):

Unfair practices – accommodations or services.

It shall be an unfair or discriminatory practice for any owner, lessee, sublessee, proprietor, manager or superintendent of any public accommodation or any agent or employee thereof:

a. To refuse or deny to any person because of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion or disability the accommodations, advantages, facilities, services, or privileges thereof, or otherwise to discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability in the furnishing of such accommodations, advantages, facilities, services, or privileges.

b. To directly or indirectly advertise or in any other manner indicate or publicize that the patronage of persons of any particular race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability is unwelcome, . . .

Thus, what we see with Childress is yet another demand by a Christianist for special rights not in keeping with state law. With the Christianists, it is ALWAYS ABOUT THEM. They think they can flout the law because of their "deeply held beliefs." Well, the KKK has deeply held beliefs and they don't get a pass to ignore the law. Neither should Childress. As noted at Pam's House Blend, one can only hope that the targets of Childress' discrimination, Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers, will file a police complaint and participate as complaining witnesses in a criminal case against Victoria Childress and/or Victoria’s Cake Cottage. Like it or not, far right Christians are not above the law.

If Childress wants to be a bigot, what she really needs to do is move to Virginia where her style of false piety and discrimination against others is fully supported by Virginia's thoroughly anti-gay legal climate.