This is how a business should run in Indiana.
First as tragedy then as farce. The new “Religious Freedom” law has forced me into a comedy career in order to explain how a business, open to serve the public, should run in Indiana.
Governor Mike Pence RFRA Religious Freedom Bill
Mike Pence signing Freedom of Religion Bill
FINALLY all the people in this picture, who were up until now apparently persecuted in Indiana and deprived of religious freedom, in spite of the State Constitution and Bill of Rights of 1851, will be able to worship according to the dictates of their deeply held religious beliefs! Thanks, Darth Pence! You are the Moses of modern day Indiana, setting the captives free from bondage! (in a private ceremony paid for by public dollars) YAY!
Mike Pence- Indiana Religious Freedom Bill
Well, the Indiana Religious Freedom Bill is headed to Gov. Pence’s desk and he is likely to sign it. One scribble from his pen and Indiana takes a huge step back in our progress toward equal rights for all Indiana citizens.
This Bill isn’t only about LGBT rights in Indiana. But, I think that it mostly is for many fundamentalist style believers. Listen my fellow Hoosier business owners, if you offer a service to the public, it should be offered to the whole public. You are, of course, free NOT to offer a particular service to everyone. Like, if you are a pizza joint, you don’t have to serve clam chowder. Yet, if you serve pizza, don’t serve pizza to a straight patron and tell a gay customer to hit the bricks. If you bake wedding cakes, you can refuse to make provocative style cakes to all patrons. But, you should not deny a cake that you DO bake to a gay couple. A business, which is open to the public, should not deny services that they provide to paying customers only because they are gay, black, atheist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, whatever…
We all have the right to our personal religious views. The First Amendment already guarantees that. You can believe what you want, teach what you want, go to fellowship wherever you want OR not. No one will come to your house of worship or home and force you what to believe or how to worship your god. Yet, if you choose to open a business to serve the public in Indiana, serve the public at large. If you want an exclusive private club, then charge membership fees and put “Private Club” on the front door.
Fellow Hoosier (or really anyone) if you find yourself today to be a person who has a downcast gaze upon the LGBT community, please read this blog that I wrote some time back.
Confessions of a Former Homophobe
Years ago, I used to be where you are now and was probably worse. Still, if you won’t change your mind and have a business that will be denying services to a portion of the population, have the balls to put a sign on the door saying so. If you get your morals from Jesus and he said not to be ashamed of him, display his alleged morals on the door for all to see. You wouldn’t want to be refused from heaven over your shame to have a public witness.
If this blog or the blog in the link resonate with you, please take a moment to hit the share buttons below. Thanks! -Luke
Vintage Harris Tweed Trench Coat- Photo: Luke Austin Daugherty
I have been doing a lot of picking for my ebay store over the last several weeks! From auctions, to thrift stores, to church sales, I’ve found some cool and unique stuff!
My personal favorite find (and I am biased), is this vintage Scottish Harris Tweed men’s overcoat. I occasionally find and sell Harris Tweeds on my store and my twin sons sell a few each year on their ebay store as well. I am always excited to find a Harris Tweed in good shape, regardless of the model. Yet, the basic/plain blazers are more common and with suede elbow patches, less so. But, I rarely find a Harris Tweed overcoat.
Last year, I found a mint condition 60’s Harris Tweed 3/4 length overcoat. It fit like it was custom tailored for me. Though they sell very well on ebay, I couldn’t bear to part with it. So, I adopted that one as my own 🙂 I looked up what it would cost to have a brand new one of the same model custom tailored for me and it racked up $835! I got mine for $5 during a 1/2 off Saturday at Goodwill in Indianapolis.
Luke Austin Daugherty in his vintage Harris Tweed overcoat. Photo: Lydia Daugherty
The difficult thing was, this newly picked overcoat fit me as well! Not wanting to be a tweed glutton, I decided to sell it. So, I dropped it off at the dry cleaners Friday and picked it back up today. It wasn’t dirty to start with. But, I’m a stickler for quality when it comes to selling such items on my ebay store. I wanted the jacket to be in the best shape possible. Here is the link to the ebay listing:
Harris Tweed Overcoat ebay listing
I’m excited to see how fast this one sells and where it ends up! For those who enjoy vintage clothing, hats, and more, I suggest checking out The Fedora Lounge online:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com
Also, here is a neat little story on Harris Tweed:
Shop for brand new Harris Tweed Clothing here:
http://www.harristweedshop.com/
Harris Tweed Authority official site:
“Water with Light Ice – An Impromptu Study on Books and Their Covers” -An original poem by Luke Austin Daugherty
“Water with Light Ice – An Impromptu Study on Books and Their Covers” -An original poem by Luke Austin Daugherty
Luke Austin Daugherty 