Catholic farmer ousted from Michigan market over same-sex marriage views

Thought-criminal dissent from the prog zeitgeist will not be tolerated.

A Catholic farmer in Michigan is suing the city of East Lansing after he was barred from a municipal farmers market over his views on same-sex marriage.

Stephen Tennes filed a lawsuit at a federal court on Wednesday (May 31), seeking his reinstatement.

In it, Tennes says he was prohibited from selling his products after his business, Country Mill Farms, refused to host a lesbian couple’s wedding at its orchard in Charlotte, 22 miles outside the city and he stated on Facebook “his Catholic belief that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman.”

Country Mill Farms had sold fruit and produce at the market for six years, but after city officials learned about the Facebook post, they “strongly and immediately pressured us not to return to the farmers market,” Tennes told a news conference at the state Capitol.

According to the lawsuit, Country Mill is the only business to have been prohibited under the market’s anti-discrimination policy.

In a statement, the city of East Lansing said the farmer’s refusal to host a same-sex wedding violated a “long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court’s ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian-based nonprofit legal organization representing Tennes, said his religious views have no bearing on his involvement at the market and said the city’s actions amounted to a First Amendment violation.

“Steve and his farm have been singled out and excluded from full participation in the life of the community for only one reason,” said ADF counsel Kate Anderson. “Steve expressed a viewpoint the city did not like.”

Flanked by supportive state lawmakers at the news conference, Tennes insisted his views on marriage had not prevented him from serving all farmers market customers equally.

“It’s our faith that informs us how to treat all who come to our farm and the farmers market with dignity and decency … serving customers of many races, religions, cultures and those who identify with the LBGT community,” he said.

His farm is outside of the city, and it’s his own property, but the city government considers his actions there to nevertheless be their business, when of course it’s none of their damned business.

But, that’s progs; no-one is safe, anywhere, from dissent, if they decide on a whim to bring the weight of the state to bear upon you.

Nevertheless, let’s pray that he wins his lawsuit.

 

Romania Close to Ban on Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

Romania Close to Ban on Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has voted in favor of a proposal to amend the Constitution to ensure that marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman.

The proposal, led by a group called Coalition for Family, passed with 232 votes in favor, 22 against and 13 abstentions. The group had collected three million signatures in support of this initiative last year.

The Romanian Constitution defines the family as the “freely consented marriage between spouses.” It was written during an earlier period in its history when “spouses” always implied marital relationships as between one man and one woman.

Good on Romania!

 

More cultural Hallmarxism

Ugh…

The popular greeting card company Hallmark is selling cards to affirm those who identify as “transgender” and to celebrate those who are undergoing gender “transitions,” the company has confirmed.

“Hallmark is committed to helping people share what’s in their hearts with those they love, and we strive to be inclusive and relevant with our products,” the company said in a statement this week, as reported by Bustle. “We are committed to reflecting people’s real lives and enriching their relationships, and our mission includes all people.”

While Hallmark began making its transgender line available in 2015, the offering just recently came to light. The company features a variety of cards on its website for homosexual relationships and transgender identification.

“Your identity is who you are. Wear it proudly, celebrate it with loved ones, and love out loud,” the site reads. “Hallmark is proud to offer a wide selection of greeting cards crafted to capture the colorful, inspiring LGBTQIA community in all of its shapes and forms.”

“Regardless of orientation or identity, whether you’re in a same-sex relationship or one that transcends labels, we are here to help you celebrate love and milestones with creativity and sincerity,” it states.

Hallmark’s offerings include cards such as “mommy + mommy + baby makes three,” “it’s a simple story of boy meets boy,” “closets are for clothes,” “party so hard you can’t ever see straight” and “queen for a day is for underachievers,” the latter of which celebrates drag queens.

The company also sells cards offering well-wishes for those who are undergoing procedures to identify as the opposite sex, including, “You’re becoming who you’ve always been” and “You are trans-tastic.”

(Previously.)

 

Multinational corporations pushing SSM in Australia, encouraging solidarity ‘rings’ in the workplace

Australia is not immune to the culture war and the social trends that have affected the rest of the West, contrary to some idiotically smug and arrogant Aussie commenters at this blog in the past; here’s another example:

In this space, I have mentioned the concerns of several Christian readers that they will face pressure in their companies to declare themselves in favor of same-sex marriage, or stand exposed as “bigots” and marginalized. This is now happening in Australia. A reader there sends this story from The Australian. Excerpts:

Some of the country’s biggest businesses have upped the ante in the crusade for marriage equality by asking Australians to wear a specially designed “acceptance ring” until same-sex marriage is legalised.

Led by accommodation provider Airbnb and supported by Qantas, ANZ, Fairfax Media and Foxtel, the Until We Belong campaign has been billed as the “most public declaration for marriage equality” so far.

The initiative calls on Aus­tralians to signal their support for same-sex couples by committing to wearing the ring, created by designer Marc Newson.

Airbnb Australia country manager Sam McDonagh said the campaign would involve the distribution of “hundreds of thousands” of the distinctive black metal rings to its hosts and guests, business partners and “key influencers”.

Qantas staff and cabin crew would wear them, he said, while Google Australia has also provided rings for its 1300 staff to wear. “Our goal is to build ­momentum around the issue of marriage equality and spark those conversations about ­acceptance,” Mr McDonagh said.

More:

Marriage Alliance spokeswoman Sophie York, who is ­opposed to same-sex marriage, questioned whether people who opted not to wear their acceptance ring would be called upon to explain their decision. She pointed to the recent harassment of a Price­waterhouseCoopers executive and a Macquarie University ­academic by gay activists over their links with a Christian ­institution as a sign of what could happen when individuals failed to comply with the “same-sex marriage agenda”.

“Almost every day, Marriage Alliance hears from an employee who has come under pressure at work to participate in an activity or donate funds to support the push to redefine marriage,” Ms York said.

“Now we see big corporates giving away free jewellery to those who take the pledge, while providing an easy way to identify those who disagree with the company agenda.

“We know activists will stop at nothing — even accessories — to target people for demise.”

And:

Qantas and Google yesterday confirmed their support for the campaign, but both said staff would not be under any obligation to wear the rings.

“We usually let our people know when we’re involved with a campaign like this, but there’s certainly no expectation that they will be part of it themselves,” a Qantas spokesman said. “They are welcome to join in, but it’s certainly not a requirement.”

No, of course not. No pressure at all. If Christians, Muslims, or others who work at these companies don’t want to wear the ring, nobody will force those hate-filled bigots to do what they don’t want to do. If they choose to advertise their bigotry by not joining in the campaign, that’s on them. It’s like back in the 1950s, during the Cold War in the US: if you didn’t want to show your patriotism by wearing a flag pin, nobody was going to make filthy communists like you do it.

“Surely you support marriage equality, don’t you? Then show your support for diversity and inclusiveness!”
 

 

Dutch male politicians hold hands in solidarity with gay couple attacked by Moroccan ‘youths’, because of suggestion by a female sports journalist

Really.

“Alexander Pechtold, leader of the progressive-liberal D66 party, arrived at Monday morning’s coalition talks hand in hand with his party colleague Wouter Koolmees. ‘We think it is quite normal in the Netherlands to express who you are,’ said Pechtold.”

“Other politicians also took up sports journalist Barbara Berend’s suggestion for men to hold hands in public as a gesture of solidarity. Among them were Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher and caretaker finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who went for a walk together on Scheveningen beach.”

Reminds me of this…

About that attack:

Two men were set upon by a group of six to eight youths as they walked hand in hand through the streets of Arnhem in the early hours of Sunday. One of the victims lost four teeth and suffered a split lip when he was struck with a bolt cutter.

Four teenage boys, three aged 16 and a 14-year-old, handed themselves in to police on Monday morning. Another 14-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man had already been arrested.

One of the victims, Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes, 31, told NOS: ‘We don’t usually do that, holding hands in public, for the very reason that we don’t want to provoke people. But we’d had a nice evening, it was late and we thought we were alone.

‘And then suddenly there was a group of six to eight Moroccan youths. Before I knew it I was on the ground fighting with three men on top of me.’

The wages of ‘diversity’…

 

Disney doesn’t want foreign Muslim dollars, either

I was right that Disney has become more about SJW agitprop than money-making, despite its history; see Vox Day’s post:

Not that we didn’t know Disney was among the most evil and SJW-converged corporations on the planet, but it’s still a little remarkable that they’d rather not show the movie at all than sacrifice a few seconds of homosexual propaganda aimed at children:

Walt Disney has shelved the release of its new movie “Beauty and the Beast” in mainly Muslim Malaysia, even though film censors said Tuesday it had been approved with a minor cut involving a “gay moment.”

The country’s two main cinema chains said the movie, due to begin screening Thursday, has been postponed indefinitely. No reason was given.
[…]

You literally cannot exaggerate an SJW’s commitment to convergence uber alles. It rivals on religious fanaticism, probably because it is, for all intents and purposes, their religion.

Yep.

I suppose one could give them credit for consistency; unlike companies that have attacked various states for policies on SSM or transgendered etc. not in line with the prog zeitgeist, but who freely operate in Muslim countries where ‘out’ queers get executed.

But SJWs are pure evil, so I won’t give those devils their ostensible ‘due’.

Do not be them; do not be like them, as our friend Chris says.

 

Francis-appointed Vatican archbishop featured in massive homoerotic painting he commissioned

Really.

The archbishop now at the helm of the Pontifical Academy for Life paid a homosexual artist to paint a blasphemous homoerotic mural in his cathedral church in 2007. The mural includes an image of the archbishop himself.

The archbishop, Vincenzo Paglia, was also recently appointed by Pope Francis as president of the Pontifical Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

The massive mural still covers the opposite side of the facade of the cathedral church of the Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia. It depicts Jesus carrying nets to heaven filled with naked and semi-nude homosexuals, transsexuals, prostitutes, and drug dealers, jumbled together in erotic interactions.

Included in one of the nets is Paglia, the then diocesan bishop. The image of the Savior is painted with the face of a local male hairdresser, and his private parts can be seen through his translucent garb.

According to the artist, a homosexual Argentinean named Ricardo Cinalli who is known for his paintings of male bodies, Bishop Paglia selected him out of a list of ten internationally-known artists specifically for the task of painting the inner wall of the facade. Bishop Paglia, along with one Fr. Fabio Leonardis, oversaw every detail of Cinalli’s work, according to Cinalli, who approvingly notes that Paglia never asked him if he believed in the Christian doctrine of salvation.

“Working with him was humanly and professionally fantastic,” Cinalli told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in March of last year. “Never, in four months, during which we saw each other almost three times each week, did Paglia ever ask me if I believed in salvation. He never placed me in an uncomfortable position.”

[…]

Under the supervision of Paglia, Cinalli painted the bishop himself in one of the “erotic” nets, semi-nude and clutching a bearded man wearing nothing but a loose loincloth. He also painted Fr. Leonardis, then head of the Office of Cultural Heritage, as a naked, muscular man with a tattoo of a cupid’s arrow running through a heart containing the word “love,” entangled with others in one of the “erotic” nets.