I read something shared by a friend that influenced me to write the following letter. I will be sending it in to the company and/or posting it on whatever website of Facebook page of theirs I can find.
Wipe Out Homophobia
"Today, Charlie and I went to cakeshop to get a wedding cake and were turned away and informed they did not serve gay weddings.
Masterpiece Cakeshop
3355 South Wadsworth Boulevard Lakewood, CO 80227
(303) 763-5754
masterpiececakeshop@msn.com
Dear Masterpiece Cakeshop,
It was brought to my attention that you have a policy in place to refuse service to gay weddings. While I understand it is your right as a private business owner to refuse service to anyone, I would like to respectfully share my thoughts with you on this matter.
I want to say first that I am not gay; therefore, I don't have a personal stake in this matter from the perspective of the homosexual couples whose proposed business you've turned down. I do, however, have a personal issue with hate and ignorance and misunderstanding, all of which affects us as a common species networked together (like it or not) to create a planet of friendship or division. So it is my business when I witness anyone working against the good of mankind.
I understand that Colorado is going through a terrible ordeal at this time regarding the Aurora theater shooting at the Dark Knight Rises movie premier. It isn't my intention to bring more grief to you, though you don't seem to mind doing it to others.
Were you aware that gay rights groups and individuals came out to support Colorado during the memorial for the shooting victims?
The group "Wipe Out Homophobia" released a message several days ago alerting people to the planned protest of the Aurora shooting memorial service by the Westboro Baptist Church. "Wipe Out Homophobia" was quite probably responsible for thousands of Facebook users learning about this shameful attempt to bring more trauma to the residents of Colorado and to the victims of that tragic crime. This is the link to their post, which generated 1,929 "likes" and 531 "shares" (which were seen by hundreds more and even more after that if others "shared" from their friends pages) to spread the news that it seemed only "Wipe Out Homophobia" was willing to address: https://www.facebook.com/WHOF1/posts/508345575858171
Because of this "sharing," members of Facebook planned to meet at the memorial to form a human wall between the mourners and Wesboro Baptist Church protesters.
Homosexuals wanted to come out in force to defend Colorado and protect its residents in their hour of need. They didn't care that the victims and their families may have been straight, black, white, Christian, Jewish, young, old, racists, or bigots. There was a choice to be made between "right" and "wrong," compassion and apathy, and they chose wisely from their hearts to do the unselfish, loving thing.
I want you to know that I respect your decision and any business owner's decision to stand for what you believe in. What I am left to wonder, however, is exactly what you are deciding to stand for.
I can see the benefit in refusing to service a KKK rally, to refuse to cater a pornography shoot, to refuse to make a wedding cake for a 30 year old man to a 12 year old girl, and even to cater a political event of an opposing candidate of who your business has chosen to support.
What I can't see is any benefit in refusing a cake to celebrate a joyous occasion centered around love, an event where the honored attendees are two consenting adults committing no crime and who prior to this event, never caused you personal grief.
Our world is in such turmoil right now. Everywhere we look, we see violence, hate, pain, despair. We see fighting in the streets, on foreign soil, and in our neighbor's homes (or our own). With all of the negativity overflowing in our lives on a daily basis, why would anyone choose to punish love? Some semblance of hope for our species when all too often we are hard pressed to find any?
I am sorry that you have so much darkness in your hearts that you cannot see the good in something as happy as a wedding. As an event specialist, you should know the joy that comes from weddings. You would know how important a wedding is to the couple involved. You would know how much happiness comes from not only the couple but all those involved in the planning and in the celebration. It's a moment in time when the chaos of the world doesn't exist. For just that flicker in the timeline of our world, people aren't hurting or dying or fighting. When anyone sets out to purposefully extinguish even the smallest moment of joy so rarely shared these days, I have to wonder just how they are able to live with so much hate in their hearts.
I am sure that your business will suffer for this, and rightfully so, but I am more concerned with the human condition involved rather than the financial aspect. Where love offers a spark of hope for mankind, hate breeds and spreads like a cancer across our Earth. As long as there are people like you, who are so bigoted that you can see a cake as "gay" or "straight," humans will continue to struggle to attain the greatness they can be, greatness that bigotry will always keep just out of reach.
Sincerely,
a Navy wife whose husband defends every race, creed, gender, age, profession, and sexuality.
Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Luke 6:27
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Mark 12:31
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Romans 13:8-10
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
James 2:8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Ephesians 4:25
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Romans 15:2
Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
1 John 4:21
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:20
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
1 John 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.
Galatians 1:8-9
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.