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Originally Posted by Gilda
The title is the basic question. Under what circumstances should a service provider who serves the general public be permitted to refuse service to an otherwise qualified custormer on the basis of moral objection to something about that person. I'm going to list a few examples, both real life and hypothetical, but by no means do I mean for these to be the sole subject of discussion. I'm more interested in whether there is a general rule that can be applied or if it's entirely situational, and if so, what differentiates one situation from another, other than agreeing with the moral stance of the professional?
Would it be appropriate to refuse to
[*]service a car with an anti/pro war bumper sticker?
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Yes, if it is a private owner and he maintains that stance nondiscriminately... i.e. a rich man driving a Hummer and a middle to lower class man driving a Pontiac both have identical stickers, yet, he'll serve the man with the Hummer.
While the 1st ammednment protects the right to free speech, it does not mean someone has to be served by a PRIVATELY owned company, if that owner chooses to not serve based on that speech.
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[*]service a car with a Jesus/Darwin fish?
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No, he may not religious belief is an inalienable right.
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[*]fill a prescription for contraceptives?
[*]fill a prescription for female hormones for a male customer?
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Yes, but again the company policy must apply to ALL people equally, and the pharmacy must be privately owned. NO, if the pharmacist acts out on his own and has no direct influence or ownership.
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[*]rent an apartment to a gay/straight couple with excellent credit?
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No, because equal housing is protected, what 2 adults do in the privacy of their own place is up to them.
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[*]give a good grade on a paper that was well-written but promotes a morally offensive point of view?
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It depends, what was the topic about, and by whom is the topic morally offensive to?
If the student followed all guidelines then he deserves to be graded unbiasedly, if the student wrote off topic for shock value only, then he should be graded for such.
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[*]serve a Muslum/Christian/Jewish couple/customer at a restaurant or store?
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No, again, religious belief is an inalienable right.
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[*]rent a hotel room to a mixed race couple?
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No, racial discrimination is illegal.
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Under what circumstances is it appropriate to refuse service based on moral objections?
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See, I have issues with this. This is a great question Gilda.
Personally, I feel a PRIVATE owner of a non essential business should have the right to serve or refuse service to anyone they wish. However, a PUBLICLY traded company has no right to discriminate at all.