Equality and Freedom

Well this is an interesting situation: for the tl;dr, a Christian couple who own a bed and breakfast in England were fined for refusing to let a gay couple to rent a room together. Despite the couple's insistence that they simply refused to let any unmarried couple co-habitate, the judge determined that their policy was aimed strictly at gays. Given that gay marriage is illegal in England, one can certainly see how that decision makes sense.

But to make a long story short, I don't agree with the decision. As much as I disagree with the elderly couple on their stance, they have every right to hold it. Granted, the legal situation is more difficult because of gay marriage's status in Britain (one more reason to extend true legal equality), but it's still their right to deny service to any customers they may choose. Let the market do the judging: couples could stay there if they support the policy, and those who disagree can stay away. It's not as if there isn't a viable alternative nearby; if that were the case, then I would likely be shifting my position. And obviously, that only holds for private businesses, as public institutions have no right to discriminate.

The conclusion from this argument, however, is that all public institutions must be open to all, including marriage, adoption, etc. This is the tactic usually employed to allow legal discrimination: gay couples can't wed, and certain services are made available only to married couples. Well, what is this if not forcing someone's beliefs onto me? It's obviously a hypocritical move on the part of the religious right, and the time is really here for them to own up and start being honest. You have every right to hate in your private lives, but you can't use the government as a tool to force me to follow those same beliefs. Otherwise, if the Right continues to mix their private beliefs and public laws, they're going to eventually have to accept limitations on their beliefs, even in their private lives. You don't want that, and I don't want that. Why don't those who shriek of forced progressive values stop forcing society to live by their own antiquated beliefs?