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04/07/2014
Without wasting a second, ADF fundraises off Elane Photography loss (#AllYouNeedToKnow)
The anti-LGBT far-right is playing, exploiting, and sadly misdirecting the "victims" who they trump up in order to make their case for "religious freedom." I've been saying it for years. The anti-LGBT movement will convince these "victims" that their facts are solid and that their case is winnable, even when it's obvious to credible legal experts that the opposite is true. These groups (Alliance Defending Freedom, National Organization For Marriage, Heritage, Family Research Council, etc.) willfully lead these "victims" down a path that completely misdirects their career and life goals, attaching them instead to a flawed and highly discriminatory agenda. When it's over and these "victims" are no longer of benefit, these groups will walk away leaving these "victims" with only the bad press, losing decisions, and negative national attention that the opportunistic anti-LGBT movement duped them into believing would be of personal benefit.
Today, just minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert to the Elane Photography case, effectively ending that conversation with an outcome that supports protecting the rights of LGBT customers, the Alliance Defending Freedom helped bear out what I've been saying. Without skipping a beat, the anti-LGBT legal organization turned the loss into a gauche opportunity to fundraise:
Jon and Elaine's story is done. That's pretty much it. After nine years in which the anti-LGBT movement's claims of a nonexistent "right" to flout nondiscrimination ordinances have misdirected and redefined their business, this case if over and the lower court ruling against them stands. The couple's story is of no more use to the anti-LGBT movement. And in fact, their story is now a bit of a liability, since the idea that even this conservative court would not take this case shows what a weak case the anti-LGBT movement has on this and all related scenarios.
So now ADF will squeeze in one last money beg before moving on to the next case that it can pump for attention, media hits, and, of course, cash, which the ADF and related groups will do until that one also meets its inevitable loss. The ADF staffers will keep getting paid—you can be sure of that. It's the people at the heart of these test cases who will be left behind wondering how they let one choice to discriminate and one ridiculously deceptive movement so utterly alter the courses of their businesses. They should've known better to discriminate, sure. Sadly, they met a political movement that refused to tell them the simple truth.