BAD BUSINESS

Kentucky Store Bans Gay People. Guns, However, Are Totally Fine

Herald Embroidery, a mom-and-pop’s print shop in Oak Grove, Kentucky, has made it clear who is welcome in their store and who is not: Guns? Sure! Gay people? Not so much.

The custom embroiderers recently posted five stickers in its front window, PolicyMic reports. Guns, beards, and a Bible passage are depicted in green circles, while “foul language” and a rainbow flag are crossed out in red circles.

After news broke, the store quickly replaced them with a “clarification” that read:

While we will serve all customers who treat our place of business with respect, we reserve the right to refuse to produce promotional products that promote ideas that are not in keeping with our consciences. This includes, but is not limited to content promoting HOMOSEXUALITY, FREEMASONRY, the use of FOUL LANGUAGE, and imagery which promotes IMMODESTY.

In other words: Shop owners don’t want your immodest and immoral homosexuality printed on any T-shirts and banners produced by them. Guns, however, are totally fine.

If this upsets you, too bad. According to the law, Herald Embroidery is acting within its rights by posting this signage. In Kentucky, it’s legal to use “religious beliefs” as a legal defense in court, even when those beliefs undermine the civil rights of others.

Since news of Herald Embroidery’s bigotry broke, the company’s Yelp page has been inundated pictures of same-sex couples kissing and holding hands. If this upsets shop owners, too bad. According to Yelp’s content guidelines, users are acting within their rights by posting the photographs. On Yelp, “colorful language and imagery is fine.”

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