There's Very Little Difference Between Jack Phillips & Lester Maddox

It should come as no surprise that conservatives are delighted with the Supreme Court's ruling permitting Colorado cake maker Jack Phillips of the Masterpiece Cakeshop to refuse to design cakes for same sex couples. It would seem conservatives have (at least for the moment) have forgiven Anthony Kennedy for making same sex marriage the law of the land.

From where I sit, there's very little difference between Jack Phillips and Lester Maddox, the late Governor of Georgia. Before being elected Governor in 1966, Maddox was the proprietor of Pickrick's. He refused to serve African-American customers despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act. While there were multiple components to Maddox's argument, one of them involved religious liberty. Maddox considered the principle of desegregation "unGodly, unChristian and unAmerican."

In 2018, such a position would be considered morally and socially abhorrent. But half a century ago, it would have represented the opinion of the majority of white Christians residing in the southern United States. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted, "Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding a Colorado baker’s constitutional right to live according to his faith is a major victory for religious liberty. The fact that the decision was 7-2 (not a narrow 5-4) underscores that govt should NEVER discriminate against religious faith.”

But if Americans have a constitutional right to live according to his faith then Ted Cruz must defend Lester Maddox's right to refuse to serve black customers because according to Maddox's faith doing so is unGodly and unChristian. Now I presume Cruz would reject such an argument, but I'm afraid he cannot have his cake and eat it. If Maddox's refusal to serve African-Americans is wrong then why is Phillips' refusal to serve a same sex couple right?

Now there is one crucial difference between Phillips and Maddox. The late Georgia Governor utilized violence to confront blacks who wished to patronize his restaurant at the point of either a gun or a pickax. Phillips has not engaged in any such conduct.

Notwithstanding Phillips' peaceable behavior one can now expect other proprietors across the country to deny service to same sex couples and the LGBT community under the guise of religious liberty. Today's Supreme Court decision effectively codifies state sanctioned homophobia. For shame.