Discussion for article #234767
The trickle will become a torrent, haters.
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MORe TERROR threats froM GAYSil NExt theY’ll be CHOPPIng off the heads OF NORmals!!1one!11!1
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Am I missing something…aren’t such laws illegal in our country? If such laws are acceptable to our Constitution and Bill of Rights then it would seem we can return to the good old days of people of color on the back of the bus, women not allowed into various organizations and so on…are we going back in time?
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Perhaps the laws are unconstitutional. The ACLU and other entities who might be in a position to challenge have not been heard from. Boycotts are the way to go until then, as what happened with CEO Benioff’s announcement yesterday that he’s cancelled all his company’s events in Indiana.
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But not the heads you’re thinking of !!1one!11!1
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I just became a fan of Yelp.
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Me, too. Whatever Yelp is, I’m a fan.
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It is a restaurant rating/finding website kind of like Urbanspoon.
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Recently Georgia came close to passing one of those “religious freedom” laws. Challenged the sponsor claimed it was not intended to support discrimination against gay people. Another state senator, took the sponsor at his word and introduced an amendment essentially saying it wouldn’t provide religious cover to bigots who tried to discriminate against others. The amendment passed. The sponsor immediately moved to table the bill claiming the amendment “gutted” his bill.
Nobody can argue that the “religious freedom” laws sweeping the country aren’t aimed squarely at enabling discrimination by religious bigots.
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Here’s the ACLU’s “strongly worded” response from yesterday to the Indiana’s anti-gay RFRA bill signed by Pence. So far…condemnation. No action set forth yet though.
And here’s the ACLU’s interactive map on where Religious Freedom Restoration Act bills have passed as well as where others have been introduced.
In my state of a Michigan a RFRA bill was recently introduced on 3/20/15 to allow foster care and adoption agencies to refuse gay parents from receiving services if those agencies feel its against their religious beliefs, even if they receive government money from the state. It has passed the House here, and is ready to move onto our upper chamber. If Snyder signs this bullshit, I’ll be happy to see Yelp stand by their words. Yelp currently operates in Michigan. Let’s see how sincere they are. I hope its not a PR stunt and they consistently follow up with all states. Kudos to them for now.
Added: I’m a little confused about this legislation since years ago I worked in the foster care and adoption field for a few short years, and religious based agencies already had an unwritten rule in which they refused to provide services to gay couples. This was a routine practice in both Catholic and Protestant founded agencies here, who already received State and Federal monies. I found this deplorable among the many things I found deplorable, especially in the private non-profit foster care system.
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Once again, lil ole Kentucky remains a beacon of hope in a sea of crazy.
I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg and we see stronger and more forceful backlash against Indiana. Let them lose some conventions in Indy, let some sponsors pull out, and local businesses start to complain then we might start to see Hoosiers wake the hell up to the mess they created by reelecting a guy who plans to use their state to get himself nominated for president. If it gets bad enough, Dan Coates’ seat may just be up for grabs after all.
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All should applaud Stoppelman for taking a stand against these vicious bills and join his call for other corporations to do the same. This Rightie, Fundie and Republican hate campaign must be met vigorously; it is nothing more than a modern version of Jim Crow and green lights violence against the LGBT community in a most insidious way.
Now that equality for the LGBT community is moving ahead, expect more of this hatred, bigotry and attempts at outright discrimination from the Right Wingnuttery, whose politicians won’t hesitate to pander to the lowest of the low among their odious and depraved “base.”
BTW: Yelp should starting flagging businesses that are listed in their apps as either (1) Discriminates or (2) Promotes Equality. Ask them self identify.
In any case: 5 out of 5 stars, Yelp! 
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I love this idea! It would be great to know these things when you’re traveling or just looking for a place to eat around town.
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My understanding is that even the Indiana Chamber of Commerce was against Pence signing this bullshit into law…and still he did so to appeal to the religious bigots in his state.
I think he’s vying for VP on a Presidential ticket and this was his way of getting on board with the crazy. Imagine a Republican going against his own state’s Chamber of Commerce though…especially a Republican!
BTW, I heard about it on Progressive radio today.
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Pence’s intentions are clear. He’s going rightward for some future political aspiration. Thanks for the links.
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The is San Francisco yelp.com. It is becoming more and more influential as those who critique become bolder and bolder. Restaurateurs some ask themselves if that’s a yelp critique being created as they deal with a difficult customer. I once posted a less than favorable comment about a carpet cleaning company and the owner called me personally to ask me to reconsider. More and more Yelp comments drive businesses .
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Just curious folks…but if you look at the map I provided above from ACLU on where these RFRA bills have passed, does that mean Yelp won’t or hasn’t expanded there already? And, while we’re at it, after thinking about this further…“not expanding” is not the same as not doing business within that state? If they already do business in some of those states and just don’t expand their business…their gay employees are already being impacted and discriminated against by these laws. Just some more food for thought.
Like I said above…I hope this is more than a PR thing with temporary pangs of social conscience followed by quiet retreat when the klieg lights turn off.
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Not only not “Expand” how about scalling back or even completely shutting down any connection to Indiana. That is Yelp is not available in the state of Indiana until such time as theuy decide to move into the 21st Century or Demcorats are back in control…which is the same as moving into the 21st Century.
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Exactly. That was my point as well after thinking about this a little bit more. Yelp got the headline they wanted. What did their gay employees get in those states that already have these discriminatory laws that Yelp entered into business with knowing about anyway?
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