ORDINANCE: I'll do what is right

I am disappointed by the anti-discrimination ordinance recently passed in the city of Coeur d’Alene. Religious issues aside (yes, I am a Christian that believes homosexuality goes against the law of God), if I owned a business I should have the right to discriminate against whomever I please whether they are black, white, homosexual, skinhead, bisexual, disabled or whatever, it is my right to hire and fire at will. Is that right under God’s law? No, but it’s my right under the constitution.

It is time to stop creating legislation that is completely unjust because ironically, this legislation, although it is trying to prevent discrimination, is discriminatory.

It is not the prerogative of the mayor or the City Council to be able to force this on the people of Coeur d’Alene. What the mayor and City Council might do instead — and lead by example — is boycotting a business they don’t approve of like they did with Mr. Montanden and Sherman Hardware. If you don’t approve of the business, don’t give it your patronage; easy, simple and just. The fact is, and, just to make it very clear, I will exercise my right to hire the people I want based on work ethic and character, not their chosen sexual orientation and not at all based off of these long list of discrimination laws we are tying our hands up with. Because that is what we should be doing, standing up for everybody’s rights, not just catering to a selected few.

LEAH MADISON

Coeur d’Alene