Participating in the public domain

This is in response to Le Anne Seaver's letter, in which she implores gay couples to respect the beliefs of those who do not agree with their right to get married. In particular, she mentions the plight of judges and business owners who find their beliefs at odds with rising popular opinion and changing laws which allow same-sex marriage.

In her view, why can't gay couples simply find judges willing to marry them and store owners willing to cater to them and simply let the others be?

There are reasons for each group. Judges: Magistrates must provide marriage services to the extent that the county clerk purveys a marriage license. In Illinois, counties must provide such licenses for same-sex couples, per the same-sex marriage law. If the magistrate does not respect the license issued for a same-sex couple, then that would violate equal protection under the law.

Business owners: In 2005, an Illinois anti-discrimination law added "sexual orientation" to the state's existing nondiscrimination statute which bans discrimination in public accommodations (which includes retail stores) with regards to to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, marital status and military status.

Why can't store owners refuse to serve gay couples? For the same reason an atheist can't refuse to serve a Christian, or a white person can't refuse to serve a black person. Whatever personal beliefs that these people hold that make them disagree with a potential customer, they must forgo them in order to participate in the public domain. It is the price of doing business.

Ms. Seaver asks us to all be respectful. She needs to realize that couples asking for equal treatment in public and under the law do not infringe on the rights or respect of those withholding it, but it does the other way around.

Ilish Talarico

Arlington Heights