Matt Grubbs is quitting the wedding game altogether to avoid same-sex clients, and he’s doing it legally.
The owner of Discover Annapolis Tours, Matt Grubbs is willing to give up $50,000 a year in revenue if it means he won’t have to allow the use of his old-fashioned trolleys for same-sex weddings. The Baltimore Sun reports,
He decided to walk away … instead of compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland in less than a week. And he has urged prospective clients to lobby state lawmakers for a religious exemption for wedding vendors.
Mr. Grubbs however, couldn’t have done it any other way without facing and more than likely losing a string of discrimination lawsuits. An attorney for the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, Glendora Hughes said,
If they’re providing services to the public, they can’t discriminate who they provide their services to.
Although there hasn’t been an official announcement by Discover Annapolis Tours, the wedding section of the company’s webpage states that they are ‘no longer taking reservations.’ Mr. Grubb did inform several prospective clients of his intentions, and it was one of those clients, a groom who was so outraged by the ‘repressive bigotry’ he made it public.
Although I don’t agree with Mr. Grubbs’ so-called Christian stance on same-sex marriage, I do respect that he is willing to lose a significant income to stand up for what he believes in. Mr. Grubbs may be a bigot, but at least he’s not also a hypocrite.
Do you think wedding vendors should be granted religious exemption to avoid having to cater to same-sex weddings?
Picture: Fibonacci Blue/Flickr
Businesses are not people; they do not have the same rights as individual, private citizens do.
A person may refuse to do business with blacks, or Jews, or gays; a business has no such option, and doesn’t deserve one. Businesses, such as so-called ‘Catholic hospitals’, do not enjoy freedom-of-religion protections because businesses do not have religious beliefs. PEOPLE do.
Re: “instead of compromising his Christian convictions”: These are not Christian convictions, and they have no biblical basis that applies to Christians. See part three, “Exegesis,” at http://reallivepreacher.com/node/868. My own Episcopal Christian church has had a homosexual bishop for years.
Sounds like this man has his deep beliefs. He’s willing to ‘walk away’ rather than be forced to alter them. That makes him a bigot? He’s not doing anything to deny ANYONE their right to get married. He just chooses not to participate. Which, asa citizen of the good ol’ USA is his right! It’s ironic that when people fight a law of the land they feel unjust, they’re called things like ‘Corageous ,Caring, Insightful, Wounderful, etc’ , but once they get the law changed, anyone who doesn’t share their opinion, is a ‘Bigot’. That word ( along with Raceism,… Read more »
The only services that should get a religious exemption are those providing religious services. The trolley not a church. Mister Douchey-pants is not a minister. If he would like to jump through the hoops to make both of those details a reality they he can have all the exemptions his shriveled little heart desires. And a tax break. Meanwhile someone with a trolley should move to Baltimore pronto. $50K is a nice little living.
I don’t think I agree with your logic. Is it immoral to open a bar if you aren’t distilling your own alcohol, or distill alcohol but sell it wholesale so you don’t know who it goes to? What about if a man gets drunk in your bar or off your alcohol and beats his family to death? Well, it’s still his choice, and you can argue about whether it’s the barkeep, the bouncer, or the manufacturer’s fault that he drank too much, but the point is the people are still dead. Gays can still get married there. Easily. There are… Read more »