discrimination nation

Because Just Cookies Is A ‘Good Business,’ It Should Be Able To Discriminate Against Gay Customers

Will Just Cookies, the Indianapolis bakery, lose its lease in a city-owned market for refusing to bake rainbow cupcakes for local college gays? They shouldn’t, say the authors of the city’s human rights ordinance. Jesus.

“We never intended for good businesses to be kicked out,” says Jackie Nytes, a Democratic council member and ordinance sponsor. “We sure never meant for the ordinance to be interpreted that aggressively.”

What, exactly, was the 2005 City Council-passed ordinance for then? To protect LGBTs (and other minority classes) from discrimination in housing, employment, and yes, public accommodations. Which should mean Just Cookies — whose owners David (pictured) and Lil Stockton and refused to fill an order from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis students — is included in the list of entities that cannot use any of those classes to discriminate. Which is, uh, exactly what they did.

But because they are a “good business,” let’s let them continue discriminating. Hope nobody wants any Black History Month cupcakes.

“We just wanted gay people to be able to walk up there and buy cookies, the same cookies as you or I,” adds Nytes. “We didn’t want to have to dictate what people’s politics should be.” Which means business owners can’t discriminate against customers, just their customers’ desire to celebrate their culture. And given Nytes’ misguided rationale, an apartment complex could not refuse to rent a condo to a gay person simply for being gay, but if that resident was going to practice homosexuality in the apartment, then it’s perfectly okay to refuse housing.

For what it’s worth, Mayor Greg Ballard’s office is still investigating the incident.

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