Last month, Lakewood cake baker Jack Phillips to the聽U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to give him and business owners like him permission to use their religious views as justification for allowing them to pick and choose which laws to follow.
Over the past eight years, my local photography business has collaborated with thousands of individuals, couples, families and businesses in Colorado and across this great country. We鈥檝e linked up with couples and families of all stripes, start-up companies, mom-and-pop shops, and Fortune 500 businesses.
As small business owners, my wife and I strive to provide a service that is honest, artistic and open to everyone. The simple truth, though, is that providing commercial services to a particular customer doesn鈥檛 also necessarily mean that a business owner agrees with everything the customer does. It simply means they are providing a service to the public and they are open to everyone on the same terms. This is a wholly distinct paradigm from聽pursuing art projects outside the bounds of the commercial agora.
Colorado鈥檚 economy thrives — and our community benefits — when businesses follow the law and treat all customers fairly. As the owner of a company, I know what my personal beliefs are. Those beliefs don鈥檛 change just because our business is being commissioned to take photographs.
Thankfully, my business is already protected under existing laws. The idea that I should be able to refuse a customer simply because of who they are — regardless of whether they want a cake, a photo, or even emergency services — would open a dangerous can of worms for those who want to take advantage of the system.
Religious freedom is already protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and Colorado鈥檚 non-discrimination laws are working the way they were designed to work. If the Supreme Court allows business owners to use their religion to ignore laws they don鈥檛 like, it will give the unmistakable impression that Colorado is not open for business to everyone. That抖阴ap bad for our economy, it抖阴ap bad for prospective businesses thinking about moving here, and it抖阴ap bad for our community.
As the spouse of a Russian immigrant and the son of a Cuban immigrant who came to this nation in search of liberty, my personal history is steeped in the understanding that we live in a republic that guarantees freedom, equal rights, and opportunity for all. These freedoms do not give any of us the right to deny services to others with whom we disagree.
Danny de Zayas is the co-founder of聽From the Hip Photo in Denver.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
