Feeling respected

Colorado’s Masterpiece Cakeshop will no longer sell wedding cakes. That’s because owner Jack Phillips discriminated against two gay men, according to the state’s Civil Rights Commission, when he refused to sell them a cake. Phillips said he will sell cupcakes for anyone’s birthday party, but “I don’t want to participate in a same-sex wedding.”

So it goes: These days, no big deal. The reaction of one of the angry gays, though, is remarkable. David Mullins told CBS the commission’s decision was good news: “The next time a gay couple wanders in there for a wedding cake, they won’t have the experience we had. They will have a responsible experience and leave feeling respected.”

Let me understand: They’ll still leave without a cake, but “feeling respected.” Customers subject to other recent close-downs can have the same reaction. Hundreds of foster care children in Illinois and Massachusetts, formerly helped by Catholic Charities, may now be languishing, but gay couples will feel respected. If trends continue, contributions to ministries and colleges that maintain a biblical position will no longer be tax deductible: They’ll have reduced income and will close down programs that serve thousands, all in the service of self-esteem for a few.

Buying a wedding cake: not expensive. Helping an abandoned child: moderately expensive. Gaining a college education: expensive. “Feeling respected,” in our new social environment: priceless.