So are the Gaineses against same-sex marriage? And would they ever feature a same-sex couple on the show, as have HGTV’s House Hunters and Property Brothers? Emails to Brock Murphy, the public relations director at their company, Magnolia, were not returned. HGTV’s PR department did not respond to initial emails and calls. Two days after this story was published, they released the following statement: “We don’t discriminate against members of the LGBT community in any of our shows. HGTV is proud to have a crystal clear, consistent record of including people from all walks of life in its series.I find it interesting that she asks the question of HGTV, in a not-so-veiled attempt to tie HGTV to the religious faith of hosts on one of their shows. Yet she already mentioned two other shows on the same network that have had LGBT guests. So she already knows HGTV's stance, through her own statement, yet she asks them anyway. After dispensing with that prerequisite, the remainder of the article is her quoting the video of Seibert. The Gainses have dutifully been mentioned - check - so anything discussed beyond that point is just "guilt by association." One could imagine the Gaineses had a suspicion that they were being baited, which is why they refused to comment for the story.
But this article plays into a larger issue, which is people of faith only being allowed to have a livelihood if they conform to whatever you want them to agree with. HGTV canceled plans in May 2014 for a show called Flip It Forward, hosted by twin Benham brothers, David and Jason. It should be noted that the Benham brothers were actively public and vocal about their views on gay marriage, women's reproductive rights, and other religions. So they set themselves up for the controversy that HGTV simply wanted no part of. But the Gaineses have not put their beliefs front and center, which is why Kate Aurthur decided to dig, seemingly believing that the Gaineses do not have the right to keep their beliefs to themselves. She has the right to drag their beliefs out into the open. She wants to castigate them, and she cannot do that if they don't divulge what she needs them to. They refused to respond, so the church and Seibert get to take the hit and, if she's lucky, that stink will rub off on the Gaineses. It's the worst kind of cynicism, manifested in a hatchet-job of an article that surmises no rhyme or reason for it's existence in the first place.
And not for nothing, but most churches have a conservative position on gay marriage and women's reproductive rights. You can appreciate the theology of a church without subscribing to everything. I have attended several churches over the years that were anti-abortion and pro-one man, one woman. I couldn't disagree more, but still attended a couple of those churches because I loved the pastors and how they taught the theology. I've had lengthy debates with the pastors over those topics. They respected my views but disagreed with me because of how they interpret the Bible. And that okay. These are beliefs we are talking about. I can't prove anything any more than the pastors can. There is no proof. That's what faith is - belief in the absence of proof. They don't know they're right, they only believe they are. And the Gaineses may believe the same thing as their pastor, they may not. In the belief game, you are not required to believe everything. To the contrary, you are encouraged to question what you believe. I've never been in a church that didn't do that, because they want to teach, and you can't teach anyone who's closed off. Questions are a good thing, because it means you are open and thinking, and that alone is proof that believing in everything is not necessary.
We live in an emotionally unstable country and, every so often, we get a reminder of that. For the last 18 months, it has been Trump. In Trump's wake, a lot of vitriol has fallen to an undercurrent. Mike Pence, our new VP-elect, passed laws in his home state of Indiana that are among the most oppressive to the LGBT community, under the guise of "religious freedom." I personally believe business owners should have the right to discriminate if they choose to do so. I also thank them for doing it publicly, so I know who and what they are, and make sure I never give them a dime of my money. If people choose to protest and boycott them for their discrimination, then so be it. They get to be run out of business because they chose to publicize their bigotry, whether they call it religion or not. Free market, baby. Sucks to be you, but you already know that as you pack your boxes and close down, don't you? That's how it works. It takes a lot of nerve to advertise your discrimination, then cry persecution, because you expected everyone to just accept it and continue to give you their money. It's the height of arrogance.
On the other hand, a couple who maintains their beliefs privately are now targeted for no particular reason, and that I do have a problem with. If the Gaineases had used their show as a platform for "religious freedom" discrimination, that would be one thing. But they haven't done that. Their beliefs are their own, and their businesses have never discriminated, regardless of what their personal beliefs are. Isn't that what we want? For people to believe whatever they want, so long as they don't exercise their rights at the expense of others? Isn't that the core of what our freedom is? Kate Aurthur, whether she is gay or not, has the right to go after someone if they discriminate. But HGTV doesn't and she knows it. And instead of waiting until the Gaineses issued a public platform or refused an LGBT guest, she decided they don't have the right to be successful unless she approves of their beliefs. So she wrote a hit piece excoriating a pastor for doing what pastors do, hoping she could drag the Gaineses out into force a response. In a country where religious people attack with bigotry then laughingly say they need their religious freedom protected from those they attack, this was a genuine attack on religious freedom. Go figure.
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