Putting aside all the snarky suggestions that gay and lesbians would sooner divorce than have a same-sex wedding catered by – oh, the horror – a pizzeria, some gay and lesbian patrons are showing their support of the controversial pizza parlor Memories Pizza which recently made news by announcing its closure due to alleged threats against the business.
Proprietor Crystal O’Connor told a local ABC-TV affiliate she supported Indiana’s recently enacted Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and that her restaurant would refuse to cater a gay wedding. The video of her saying that went viral, and all hell broke loose. For a while it appeared the pizzeria might shut down after media and protesters descended upon the storefront in tiny Walkerton, Indiana, and thoroughly savaged its Yelp page.
Now it appears the O’Connor family will have more money than it knows what to do with, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign created and promoted by conservative media outlets. Currently, O’Connor has raised close to one million dollars on the popular crowdsourcing site, Go Fund Me.
Twenty of those dollars, however, have come from an unlikely source: Courtney Hoffman, Courtney, who is lesbian, wrote, along with her donation, that, “As a member of the gay community, I would like to apologize for the mean spirited attacks on you and your business. I know many gay individuals who fully support your rights to stand up for your beliefs and run your business according to those beliefs. We are outraged at the level of hate and intolerance that has been directed at you and I sincerely hope you are able to rebuild.”
She added: “My girlfriend and I are small business owners, and we think there is a difference between operating in a public market space and then attaching the name of your business to a private event,” Hoffman said in a radio interview. “Like, if we were asked to set up at an anti-gay marriage rally, I mean, we would have to decline.”
Hoffman said the “horrible, hate-filled attacks” against the pizzeria and its Christian owners did not reflect the gay community that she has come to know and love. “The gay community that we know knows full well what it’s like to be condemned for doing nothing but living your life according to your beliefs,” she added. “We know so many gay individuals that fully support the freedom of living your life according to your beliefs and feel that freedom extends to everyone, even the people that we don’t agree with.”
Shortly after, two other members of the LGBTQ community made two sizable donations of $250 each.
What an idiot. Her donation was just forwarded to the Ted Cruz campaign. She and that state lesbian senator from Hawaii who voted against gay marriage should get together. She may claim she knows lots of gay people who support her but having read many articles and the comment sections on this most gay people do not support her but instead find her to be an idiot.
These two lesbians do not understand the difference between gay and anti-gay. Gays do not discriminate against straights, but anti-gays discriminate against gays. This is about discriminating against American citizens and at least 8 religions are changing to support marriage equality because they are smart enough to know what inclusiveness means.
Actually, they seam to know full well what it means to discriminate against people who don´t fit in.
The sure show a whole lot of other people how to be the bigger person.
Hatred is never okay.