World News: Why is this OK?

Tuesday, December 13

Big chain restaurants may dominate the dining scene both nationally and regionally, especially with their advertising clout. But smaller establishments in cities and towns draw in patrons, too. In many metropolitan areas, local restaurants thrive with a loyal following cultivated over many years. Residents know the owners and feel more comfortable in a neighborhood setting […]

Restaurant refuses to serve Christian group. Why is that OK?

Today's newsletter gets started with a note from columnist Ingrid Jacques.

Is it OK for a restaurant to cancel a reservation last minute simply because some employees don't like the group involved – and what they believe?

I recently asked that question in a column, and I have received more reader responses than anything else I've written for USA TODAY. It clearly struck a nerve, and I think a lot of Americans are grappling with these issues.

The restaurant in question defended the move because many of the LGBTQ employees expressed they felt "uncomfortable and unsafe" serving members of the Family Foundation, a group that advocates for biblical values such as traditional marriage and the sanctity of life.

USA TODAY columnist Ingrid Jacques

Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press via USA TODAY Network

I think it would have been a very different story if the roles were reversed and a Christian-owned restaurant denied meal service to an LGBTQ group. The outcry would have been immediate.

I felt it was important to call out this double standard. Creative business owners – such as website designers or bakers – who decline designing a website or cake to celebrate same-sex marriage because that goes against their beliefs are often decried as bigots, even though these artists do business with all people, including those in the LGBTQ community.

Isn't preventing someone from entering a restaurant because of their work or beliefs an even greater slight?

I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten, and I encourage you to read my column if you haven't.

— Ingrid Jacques

Columns for you to read

•	Americans are suffering in a real-life version of Grand Theft Auto. Here's how we stop it.
•	Why can't we be friends? Lack of social contact harms Americans' mental, physical health.
•	You have helped USA TODAY donate more than 150,000 meals. How about we donate more?
•	In new Title IX rules, Biden must not kick due process and free speech to the curb

Some might say that at 90 years old, she is graduating a bit late.

I disagree. Her age is a number, nothing more. A chronological tally. It doesn't show us the life she has lived, the people she has loved, the children she has raised and the wisdom gained in the process.

Joyce DeFauw and her fellow Northern Illinois University graduates at their commencement ceremony in DeKalb on Dec. 11, 2022.

Wade Duerkes/Northern Illinois University

Joyce, I'd argue, is getting her bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University right on time. And when she walks across the stage at Sunday's graduation ceremony in DeKalb, her very presence will deliver a message she recently shared with me: "Keep learning. We don't even use a fraction of our brain, so it's there if we only take advantage of it and use it. Keep going."

Real quick, sign up to get our alerts

Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? It's free and available in your app store.

Once you have the app, go to the settings and add "Commentary & Analysis" to make sure you don't miss out.

Discover more with our newsletters: Get the latest headlines, things to do and more in your inbox. Sign up here.