Indiana Gov. signs "religious freedom" bill into law

This is such bullshit.

Law firms make decisions about who they choose to represent on a daily basis.

And, sure, sometimes a Jewish lawyer working for the ACLU will defend the rights of the KKK, but just as often, layers turn down cases/clients based on any number of objections.

Ad agencies do the same thing.

If Tom Verducci turns down the request to co-author a book with Michael Sam, should he look for a new line of work?

 

Yep, but not as much as the former.

 

What bugs you, me, or doctorquant and and what should be codified in law can be two different things, and since the three of us won't agree on everything, by definition, it must be.

So, let's all call the owners of the pizza place a bunch of backwards hicks and move on.

 

If sexual orientation were a protected class, and Verducci turned him down on the basis of his sexual orientation, then yes.

You don't have a right to be a sports author.

 

Dick, Dick, Dick ... You don't have a right to be a successful sports author, true. But come on, man ... Everybody's got a right to be a sports writer. I think it's in the Constitution somewhere.

 

Insanity.

Selling a cake or floral arrangement is a simple transaction. When you hire someone to photograph or cater your wedding, or write a book with you, you are purchasing their time.

Anytime I sell my time to anyone, I have to decide if it's worth it to me. I have to decide if it can be spent better elsewhere, or on another job.

If a particular job doesn't interest me -- or a baker, or photographer, or Tom Verducci -- enough to want to participate in the project, than I should be able to turn it down.

 

Law firms make those decisions based upon what they can do for a client. A lawyer who specializes in lawsuits may decline a client if the client needs a lawyer to decline a murder charge. I don't know what the ethics rules are, so maybe one of the legal folks on here can clarify, but wouldn't it be considered ethical if a lawyer declined a client based upon what their expertise is and how they can serve the client?

Verducci is a baseball writer. He can say he doesn't know enough about football to write a book to get out of writing with Sam, Now, if he refused to write for Billy Bean because publishers aren't interested in his pitches, that's one thing. If he refuses to write it. just because he felt that, under his religion, that he is encouraging something that would be a sin, then he is discriminating.

 

Well, I was going to point out that since there are no regulation on the press, it would be pretty hard to tell Tom that he could no longer right about sports.

 

Law firms choose their clients on any number of criteria.

Should either side in the abortion debate expect a (qualified) law firm to work for them, regardless of their beliefs on the matter?

I don't think so.

OK. Is he discriminating in a way that should be liable to legal action?

 

It's not as simple as that.

People don't want to service or attend Homoweddings because they don't believe gays should be allowed to get married at all.

That's entirely different than not attending a nudist wedding because a naked Uncle Frank gives you the creeps.

 

But do you turn down jobs based upon how it's worth to you, or just because you don't like something about the person?

Turning down a job because you may not make a profit is one thing. Turning it down because you believe your customer is a sinner is something else.