Anti-SSM business owners deserve a voice

DESPITE popular scepticism, business owners opposed to same-sex marriage exist, writes Caroline Marcus. These are their stories.

Florists are trying to vet customers wanting a same-sex wedding. (Pic: iStock)

TODAY, I’m going to introduce you to the real-life florists and bakers who want the right to say No.

So far relegated to mythical voices in the hypothetical debate over protections, these operators have for months had that their concerns about religious freedoms labelled as simply scaremongering or, as Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne and others put it, a “red herring”.

There would be no consequences other than gay couples having the right to marry, the Yes camp insisted.

“No one is forcing you to get gay-married,” the punchline went.

Boom tish, try the steak.

We now know that to be a complete furphy; no sooner had the Yes campaign secured their victory, they were arguing religious laypeople should not have the right to excuse themselves from essentially participating in gay weddings.

It’s looking increasingly likely that Liberal Senator Dean Smith’s same-sex marriage bill, which does not extend legal protections beyond religious clergy to parishioners who share those beliefs, will pass the Senate this week.

On Sunday, Fairfax columnist Peter FitzSimons rather skilfully managed to simultaneously smear such conscientious objectors within the wedding industry as “homophobes” and deny their existence.

“Just how many homophobic florists do you think there actually are in Australia, in the first place?” he wrote. “Has anyone, anywhere, ever heard of one?”

Well yes, Fitzy, I have (though I take issue with your slur) and any journalist who bothered to put in some basic legwork could have done the same.

Small business owners working in the wedding industry who oppose SSM do exist. (Pic: iStock)

It only took a few hours to track down more than half a dozen people working within the wedding industry, including a florist, who were acutely concerned about their religious freedoms.

Each told me of many more.

While all accepted the Yes vote and that same-sex marriage would soon become reality, they also wanted the right not to take part.

All but one did not want to be identified out of fear of backlash, worried their businesses would be run into the ground by gay activists.

There was Claire*, the aforementioned florist and a Sydney mother of two.

She says she has gay customers and no problem doing flowers for any other type of gay event, but says her Catholic faith prevents her from participating in a same-sex wedding.

“I just believe that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Claire says.

“I can love all people, but I don’t have to do flowers for your wedding.”

Like most of the operators I spoke to, she plans not to openly declare her objection; there won’t be any “No Gays” signs we hear about in hyperbolic debates.

Instead, many like Claire are already screening clients with subtle questionnaires with plans to say they’re unavailable.

But it’s outrageous that in Australia in 2018, people should feel obligated to conceal their religious beliefs.

One Queensland venue operator Richard*, whose property is among the country’s most popular wedding venues, is already being spammed by keyboard activists.

The business accommodates 200 weddings a year, but Richard now receives more than 20 inquires a week from suspected advocates demanding to know his stance on gay marriage, he believes, in order to “out” him as a foe of the gay community.

“You can just tell in the tone. The questions are, ‘Are you open to gay weddings? Do you have a problem with it?’” said the devout Christian. “A genuine inquiry is, ‘we love your venue, we’d love to have a look.’”

Those genuine inquiries from same-sex couples number less than one a week out of an average 800 total, he says.

Richard also says he regularly fields calls and emails from gay publications wanting to know if he will advertise his venue or put a “compliance banner” on his website.

He’s already drafted a document for future same-sex clients, explaining his Christian-based opposition, but concedes if he is not protected under the law then he may have to allow the use of his grounds for gay weddings, although he will refuse to participate in any aspect of the ceremony that a venue owner would ordinarily take care of.

Despite the majority Yes vote for SSM, there are still Australians who belief marriage should be between a man and a woman. (Pic: iStock)

One person brave enough to be identified is Canberra-based civil celebrant David Campbell, a member of the Pentecostal movement Australian Christian Churches.

Campbell says there are a number of celebrants within his industry association who feel the same way as he does, but who don’t feel supported by the representative body.

“Until we know what the legislation actually looks like, I have to consider, do I stay a celebrant?” Campbell says.

Meanwhile, Sydney photographer George*, also Christian, is fearful of becoming a scapegoat for what he labels the newly “weaponised” gay activists.

“Religious protection for churches is great, that’s fantastic, insert applause,” George says. “But how about the rest of us who are being left behind, who want to support our own ideas and beliefs?”

It’s telling of the current hostility towards the Catholic Church in particular that it’s typically Christian bakers and florists invoked in this polarising discussion.

But it goes without saying members of minority religious and ethnic communities are deeply concerned, too.

One orthodox Jewish caterer Benjamin* tells me he could not cater a gay Jewish wedding because it would be “condoning” something the Torah tells him is not allowed.

As the president of the recently-formed conservative Australian Jewish Association Dr David Adler tells me, discrimination is “a two-way street”.

Gay Australians deserve same-sex marriage to be swiftly legislated after legitimately winning public support, but their rights to marry shouldn’t outweigh the rights of people with deeply held religious convictions to live by their principles.

We need to balance both.

Trampling on the freedoms of one minority in an effort to overcorrect historical prejudice against another will not create a fairer Australia.

(*Names have been changed.)

Caroline Marcus is a journalist with Sky News. Contact her via Twitter at @carolinemarcus.