Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Indiana Pizzeria Says NO to Gay Customers


Photo: Indiana Pizzeria Tells Local News Station They Won’t Serve Same-Sex Marriages. Provided by The Wrap at the link below.


If you knew about the new "religious protection" law in Indiana, then you knew this was going to happen.  An article by Jordan Chariton, of The Wrap, from a link on my MSN.com page:

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A local Indiana ABC station spoke to a pizzeria Tuesday night who will not serve to same-sex marriages after the Indiana law was passed.

"If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no," Memories Pizza owner Crystal O'Connor told ABC 57. "We are a Christian establishment."
 
O'Connor said the business is not discriminating against anybody, but she and her family has her beliefs and other people are entitled to their own.
 
"We definitely agree with the bill," she added, saying she doesn't think the bill targets gays or discriminates but instead protects businesses like hers who have a religious belief.
 
ABC also spoke to her father: "That's a lifestyle that you choose, I choose to be heterosexual, they choose to be homosexual--why should I be beat over the head because they choose that lifestyle?"
 
The business said if a gay couple stepped into their business, they wouldn't deny them service--they just wouldn't cater their wedding.
 
The company's Yelp Page--which has a one-star rating--is being besieged with critical comments: "I look forward to the day when Memories Pizza is just that- a DISTANT LONELY MEMORY," one reviewer wrote.
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Me, again. 

First of all, who has tons of pizza catered to their wedding?  I don't remember that being an option for any of the receptions I've ever been to.  Not the point here, obviously.  I'm just sayin'.

Secondly, if you've read this blog before, you probably know where I stand on this issue.  We'll see if the pizzeria's stance is legal when the Indiana lawmakers, including the governor, amend the wording of the law--which they promised this week they will do.  Until then, expect more of this.

Update from 4.3.2015: The same paper says that Crystal O'Connor had been hit with such a barrage of criticism and negative publicity that she has had to temporarily close down her business.

Looks like she's not serving heterosexuals, either.

6 comments:

  1. It's not unheard of--at least in New York City--to have an Italian restaurant/pizzeria cater to a reception. Most pizzerias have pasta dishes, sandwiches, calzones, etc. Now I'm talking about very inexpensive receptions. Like in a backyard. I went to quite a few of those while growing up.

    Anyway--it's pretty foolish for an establishment to spout their beliefs against a certain group of people. You will almost always lose your business with such blatant prejudices. So yeah they're homophobic, but they're also just plain stupid.

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    1. I'm with ya, Diane. I mentioned the pizza at weddings only because that was the woman's exact quote: She mentioned "pizzas for the wedding." Which just proves your point: Not the brightest way to state her point.

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  2. So apparently plenty of others agree with the owner. Or they are really big fans of this particular style of pizza. I just read an article saying $840,000 was raised through a GoFundMe site benefiting the business.

    http://7online.com/news/$840k-raised-for-indiana-pizzeria-that-backed-religious-law/630976/

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    1. Yeah, I saw that. Unbelievable. The only caveat is that $840K won't keep the business open, and it won't support both the lives of the owners and the business itself. They have to pay for the building's rent, the electric, the heat, the product itself, the taxes, and the entire income for the owner and for whomever works there full-time, plus even maybe their medical benefits, etc. In light of all this, $840K actually isn't much and won't last very long.

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  3. Lord help that gay couple... anyone who wants that cheap pizza for their wedding.

    In all fairness, no I have never personally tasted their pizza, but if they have to resort to this for attention... or did they honestly believe it would work when even the big boys of Chik-Fil-A couldn't hold under pressure... (and they have *such* yummy nuggets)? OK, I am jk - sort of.

    Really, though - can we just skip to the trump-card? Yes? Oh, thank you! PR stunt for small business FAIL.

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    1. Wow, Marsha, that's a great point. I never thought of that--shocking, since I'm usually as cynical as they come. But you are of course right: This was a PR stunt. And it bombed. For now. Let's see how much they make on that fundraising site, and how long they make it for.

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