Could Liberty and Freedom be Coming to an End?

Over the Independence Day holiday, at a well known New York Mexican eatery, the Cancun Inn, a couple was refused service and forced to leave, because the lady, a Trump supporter, wore a “Make America Great Again” cap. Soon after sitting at a table, Ester Levy and Alvin Goldstein ordered refreshments from a waitress who took their order but soon returned, and with a surprised look explained that she was told to refuse the couple service and that they would have to leave.

Although shocked by the sudden turn of events, as they got up from the table a man who identified himself as a co-owner of the restaurant approached and began to berate and harshly criticized them for their support of Mr. Trump, and then continued “We don’t serve Trump supporters here. Get out and never come back”. As they exited, Goldstein shouted victory for Trump.

Following this Ms. Levy vented her embarrassment and displeasure with the restaurant on Facebook which resulted in the Cancun Inn being inundated with criticism. Several of the commenter’s went on to suggest that a boycott be considered. The Inn countered with its own version of the events, which accused the couple of being “obnoxious”, and “rude and harsh toward their staff”. Ms. Levy responded and disputed these charges.

Shortly after the encounter with the anti-Trumpist’s, Ms. Levy, who by the way had been a loyal customer of the Inn for over 25 years and knew one of the owners, who was not on the premises at the time, called the local police about what had occurred and was informed they could not take any action. Further, she was told that “as a private business they (Cancun Inn), could refuse to serve whoever they wanted”, she then later remarked “I don’t expect anything more to come of this”.

I could end the story here, and most readers would tend to think this is merely a case of people who differ in their support of a presidential candidate, why make a fuss over it. But this incident has another dimension, which is the essence of this article. Most Americans should be aware by now that over the last several years a number of small business owners, predominantly Christian, have come under fire for their religious beliefs. They refused to accommodate same sex couples who sought services for their wedding ceremonies.

Some believe most of these encounters were planned and part of a calculated effort, and that the couples involved knew from the outset how the business in question would respond. Their real intent was to accuse the owners of homophobia and have them punished. The business owners argued for their religious freedom rights, and could not in good conscience accommodate a lifestyle they believed to be sinful.

Following are just some of the instances that have occurred that resulted in a business being punished for their religious beliefs and conscience:

In Dallas, Texas a gay couple filed a complaint against the Dallas Morning News for refusing to publish the announcement of their same sex wedding.
In New Mexico a photographer was fined $7000.00 for refusing to take pictures of a lesbian ceremony.
In Illinois a gay couple filed a complaint against two bed and breakfast inns who refused to accommodate their ceremony.
In Kentucky a t-shirt company in under investigation by the city of Lexington Human Rights Commission for refusing to print t-shirts for a local gay rights organization.
In California the dating site Harmony was threatened with a lawsuit by a gay man for not offering matchmaking for lesbians and gays. Harmony eventually agreed to implement a service for homosexuals.
In New York a lesbian couple filed a discrimination complaint with the New York Division of Human rights, after a rural farm refused to host their wedding ceremony on their premises.

William Penn, founded the Province of Pennsylvania, and was an ardent advocate for democracy and religious freedom once wrote, “Right is right no matter who is against it, and wrong is wrong no matter who is for it”. The truth is, there are special select groups whose liberties are sacrosanct and above reproach, and must not be suppressed or subjected to any other liberty or freedom that seeks to impose itself on the groups existence. Here we have a couple who were denied service and forced to leave an establishment, with no backlash, while honest, hardworking, God-fearing Americans, did not have that same choice as did the restaurant to say no. Right or wrong, religious liberty takes a back seat to politics.