[Lnc-business] Bake the Cake

[Caryn Ann Harlos]

Tom Krannawitter wrote this today (quote below).  This is the tact we
need to take.  It does not countenance anyone's particular opinions and
put the enemy lines right where they belong - the State.  I reiterate. 
We have a ton of people right now who think it is Libertarian to force
the baking of cakes.  We have an opportunity to set that record straight
and stop the implicit idea that religious people have rights that others
do not.  I do not begrudge them escaping illegitimate state coercion
just like I do not begrudge ANY tax cut, but always say that everyone
should get them, and everyone has these rights.  If we are scared of our
own shadow on this, we are not leading the way to libertarian reasoning
rather than the polarized identity politics of today. 

==Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Both sides, in
and out of the courtroom, will focus on the wrong arguments. 

Those who oppose baker Jack Phillips, on the one hand, will argue that
government has the rightful authority to command one class of property
owners (cake ingredient owners) with whom they will trade. 

Those who oppose baker Jack Phillips will ignore completely other
property owners, such as those who own cash and are looking to trade it
for cakes. They don't want government commanding cash owners with whom
they must trade. Only cake ingredient owners. 

Those who support baker Jack Phillips, on the other hand, will emphasize
either the Free Speech Clause or Free Exercise Clause of the First
Amendment, or both. 

They will concede, either explicitly or implicitly, that government has
the rightful authority to command one class of property owners
(including cake ingredient owners) with whom they will trade. But they
will insist on some kind of exemption from the commanding power of
government for select people with select religious beliefs. 

Neither of these arguments has anything to do with equal protection of
the laws for the person and private property of every American citizen.
Neither of these arguments has anything to do with the principle of
equal freedom for each and every American citizen to interact and trade
with those who agree, mutually and voluntarily, to interact and trade. 

The Constitutional answer in this case would be to strike down the
provision of the Colorado so-called "public accommodations" code [CO Rev
Stat § 24-34-601 (2016)] and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's
enforcement of it as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the
14th Amendment. A law cannot offer equal protection when it singles out
a certain class of property owners and commands with whom they will or
will not trade. 

Of course, it is almost certain no one on the Court will make that
argument, with the possible exception of Justice Thomas. Instead, we are
almost certain to hear and read arguments about total government control
over business properties versus total government control over business
properties with a special exemption for business owners who claim to
hold certain religious beliefs. Sigh.== 

-- 

IN LIBERTY, 
CARYN ANN HARLOS 
Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) -
Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org 
Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado [1] 
Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee 

A haiku to the Statement of Principles: 
_We defend your rights_ 
_And oppose the use of force_ 
_Taxation is theft_ 

On 2017-12-04 16:56, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote:

> We should put out something with a libertarian perspective on this.  It may be decided in favour of the bakers but it will be on "religious" grounds rather than the freedom that belongs to us all.  I know some will not want to touch this with a ten-foot pole.  But freedom of association (including contract) for peaceful people IS what we always held.  It is about time we cleared that up. 
> 
> https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/16-111?utm_source=Cornell+Legal+Information+Institute+%5BLII%5D&utm_campaign=81f73bf09d-Bulletin_Previews_2017_12_4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_74379d6e9c-81f73bf09d-133170377
> 
> -- 
> 
> IN LIBERTY, 
> CARYN ANN HARLOS 
> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org 
> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado [1] 
> Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee 
> 
> A haiku to the Statement of Principles: 
> _We defend your rights_ 
> _And oppose the use of force_ 
> _Taxation is theft_
 

Links:
------
[1] http://www.lpcolorado.org/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business/attachments/20171204/d60033a6/attachment-0001.html>