A Tennessee store put up a "no gays allowed" sign, and it's totally legal?

2015-07-01T21:51:34-04:00

After the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, a store in Grainger County, Tennessee, put up a sign with a terrible message: "No gays allowed."

Jeff Amyx, a baptist minister who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies, told WBIR 10 News that he put up the sign because he's religiously opposed to gay and lesbian couples, and that he has no intent of taking the sign down.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-tennessee-store-put-up-a-no-gays-allowed-sign-—-and-its-totally-legal/ar-AAcqKTG

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 1 at 2015 9:58 PM

2015-07-01T21:58:55-04:00

As much as I think discriminatory behavior is wrong on a visceral level, I say let the Free Market sort it out.

If you act like an ass in the global community, you will find yourself without customers very very quickly.

Strictly speaking, unless you are in a very niche market, it is just "bad business" to INTENTIONALLY exclude any client base. That's just lost sales, which is lost profit, which is lost payroll for you as a business owner. That doesn't get "better with age." It gets worse.

People don't remember you kindly later on as the one with the "Oh, that's Billy. He was the one who said 'no Gays. Let's give him our business." They remember you when Cousin Tanya ends up being gay, and you were a jackass, even if they were one themselves.

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Jul 1 at 2015 10:27 PM

2015-07-01T22:27:13-04:00

I've worked EMS in Grainger County. I know this individual. While I will defend his right of freedom of speech/expression, I can not agree with his stance. Given that there are probably only about a dozen homosexual (publicly known anyway) individuals in the whole County, I don't see it impacting his business very much. Washburn is a small isolated community as is so his customer base isn't very large to begin with. MOST of the people are decent folk. They are woefully out of touch with modern times though.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 2 at 2015 3:20 AM

2015-07-02T03:20:25-04:00

He is not a chain across America. People in Washington can not effectively boycott the business. This doesn't really effect anyone unless they are in that town in TN. You might ask, how is this allowed? How is it legal. I suppose it is legal through the same way we all decide what to wear when we go out, freedom of expression or we make a decision not to pick up a hitch hiker. I am pretty sure law enforcement can not intervene since its a civil matter. Like someone said, let the free market deal with it.

Response by SGT William Howell made Jul 2 at 2015 7:53 AM

2015-07-02T07:53:37-04:00

The world would be such a better place if people stopped being covert about their phobias. That way I could avoid them. I could just ask, "Are you a racist or homophobe?" If they say yes I can move along.