East Tennessee hardware store puts up 'No Gays Allowed' sign

New sign at Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies (Photo: WBIR)

UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015: A new sign has been posted at Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County.

The sign reads, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who would violate our rights of freedom of speech & freedom of religion."

The sign bears the signature of the store's owner Jeff Amyx.

We'll have more on this story later today on 10News and WBIR.com.

ORIGINAL STORY: (WBIR) An East Tennessee store owner is using what some call a controversial sign to express his beliefs following the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage.

Several WBIR 10News viewers brought this story to our attention on Facebook.

Jeff Amyx, who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County, added the 'No Gays Allowed' sign because gay and lesbian couples are against his religion.

Amyx, who is also a baptist minister, said he realized Monday morning that homosexual people are not afraid to stand for what they believe in. He said it showed him that Christian people should be brave enough to stand for what they believe in.

"They gladly stand for what they believe in, why can't I? They believe their way is right, I believe it's wrong. But yet I'm going to take more persecution than them because I'm standing for what I believe in," Amyx said.

He said he has no plans to take the sign down.

Via: WBIR.com

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NO, THIS IS NOT JIM CROW FOR GAYS — UNDERSTANDING ARIZONA S.B. 1062

The Arizona legislature has passed S.B. 1066. It amends a 1999 Arizona law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). It does so in an attempt to strengthen the ability of vendors to follow their religious conscience by, for example, declining to provide services at gay weddings. The text of the legislation can be found here.

The legislation has generated much criticism. The two most recent Republican presidential candidates have urged Governor Brewer not to sign the bill. Various big businesses have done the same. Even the National Football League, that bastion of enlightenment, has weighed in. This is no small matter given that Arizona likes to host the Super Bowl. Must religious freedom pay for Richie Incognito’s sins?

I’m confident that a broad consensus exists on the issues raised (or allegedly raised) by S.B. 1066. First, it seems fundamentally wrong to deny someone service at, say, a restaurant or a gas station because of his or her sexual orientation (although doing so is not currently banned by Arizona state law). Likewise, it seems fundamentally wrong for a photographer to refuse to take, say, a passport photo of a person because of his or her sexual orientation.

But second, it also seems fundamentally wrong to require a photographer who believes, based on sincere religious conviction, that gay marriage is immoral to participate in a gay marriage celebration by photographing it. Indeed, it is odd (and telling) that any gay couple would want their sacred ceremony to be chronicled by someone who finds the event morally reprehensible. Such a photographer is unlikely to capture the spirit of the occasion.

S.B. 1062 is being portrayed as vindicating the second of these propositions at the expense of the first. If so, Gov. Brewer shouldn’t sign it. Instead she should, in effect, send the legislature back to the drawing board to craft a bill that better balances the two concerns — basic fairness for gays and religious freedom for religious believers.

But as I understand S.B. 1062, it does a good job of balancing these concerns. A RFRA law like Arizona’s is not a license to discriminate against gays based upon religious beliefs. Indeed, according to this analysis, no business has ever successfully used either a state RFRA or the federal RFRA to defend their right to not serve gays.

Via: Powerline

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Obama Includes Message to Gays in Thanksgiving Proclamation

(CNSNews.com) – In his annual proclamation on Thanksgiving, President Barack Obama signals his endorsement of same-sex couples – “no matter who we are or who we love” all Americans are alike, Obama wrote in remarks posted Tuesday at Whitehouse.gov.

“Thanksgiving offers each of us the chance to count our many blessings – the freedoms we enjoy, the time we spend with loved ones, the brave men and women who defend our Nation at home and abroad,” Obama wrote. “This tradition reminds us that no matter what our background or beliefs, no matter who we are or who we love, at our core we are first and foremost Americans.”

Obama’s proclamation invokes Abraham Lincoln’s reference to seeking God’s help “to heal the wounds of our nation” and notes the generosity of Americans who serve in the military or work as volunteers.

“This Thanksgiving Day, let us forge deeper connections with our loved ones,” Obama wrote in concluding his proclamation. “Let us extend our gratitude and our compassion.

“And let us lift each other up and recognize, in the oldest spirit of this tradition, that we rise or fall as one Nation, under God,” Obama said.

Via: CNS News

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