Discrimination on religious reason?

The controversy began with an example: can a florist to deliver flowers to refuse a gay wedding arguing religious reasons? Some conservative US states believe necessary to protect this right, but did not expect the cradle of free enterprise employers oppose mass.

The debate launched by the laws of "religious freedom" has highlighted the generation gap in the United States, as well as different ways of thinking among those still bent on denying equal rights to homosexuals and those who believe it is time nationwide that accept unions between same sex.

The laws, which were first adopted in the Legislative Indiana and Arkansas, allowed for reasons of religious belief, someone denied a service to a person for being gay giving legal protection to discriminate.

Legislators who drafted the bill in Indiana recognized that had protected the right to place in business signals "entry is allowed gays," which had been tinged years of institutionalized racism against African Americans.

The governors of those two states protests from Democrats and activists for the rights of gays and lesbians were expected. With what lacked was the diametrical opposition of much of the local and national business community, which has long known that xenophobia and discrimination are not a good deal.

"The furor over laws like Indiana demonstrates how easily minority groups can hijack an entire religion and insist that religious practice requires that discriminate against certain groups," he explained in an op-ed writer Rafia Zakaria.

In Arkansas, where the headquarters of Walmart, the largest private employer in the world and the state, the supermarket giant was among the first to speak out against legislation that he said, "it threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion this is throughout Arkansas and does not reflect our values. "

As did the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, the Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, requested an amended law, which was finally lowered tone to assimilate to an approved in 1993 at the federal level to protect religious minorities and guarantee a certain level of insubordination in government contracts.

About twenty other states with Republican majorities are examining laws "religious freedom", but the massive response from politicians, religious leaders, celebrities, businessmen and civil society has forced us to rethink the political risk of an affront against same-sex unions , something that new generations do not question.

When Hutchinson pulled back to ask that the law be amended he acknowledged that his son Seth had signed a petition against the legal initiative that he was going to ratify.

"This bill once it had not been controversial," Hutchinson went on to say, emphasizing the different mentality of some parents towards their children in America. Because, from the late 90s, the United States has gone from having a majority of states which explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage to possibly be a few months to legalize such unions nationwide.

In June, the Supreme Court must decide whether it is constitutional for states to prohibit or refuse to recognize gay marriages, a landmark decision after decades of struggle for equality.

Nevertheless, in this country of over 300 million people there will always be those who think that religion waives certain civil obligations as those who have donated thousands of dollars to a pizzeria in Indiana who said he would never prepare food for a gay wedding .

Many wondered who would hold such an important occasion with a feast on pizza like dish, especially a group known for its sophistication and good taste.