In case you missed it, Mississippi just passed one of the most–if not THE most–outrageously homophobic laws in the nation. It protects business owners’ right to refuse to serve anyone if so doing would trample on their “sincerely held religious beliefs”–and explicitly allows business owners to turn away gays and lesbians. Well, one of the business owners who is supposedly protected by this new law is having none of it. He sees the bill for what it really is–political grandstanding at the expense of minorities.
Mitchell Moore is the owner of Campbell’s Bakery, with locations in Jackson and the nearby suburb of Madison. He describes himself as “a deeply Christian man.” This law was supposedly written to protect people like him–devout Christians who are forced to bake wedding cakes for gay and lesbian couples. However, on Wednesday, Moore told NPR’s Renee Montagne that this bill is a solution looking for a problem.
“I am here to bake cakes and to sell those cakes. I’m not here to decide arbitrarily who deserves my cake and who doesn’t. That’s not what I do. That’s not my job.”
Moore added that as a cake baker, he is “here to serve,” and he doesn’t have to agree with what his customers do.
While Moore objects to how the law effectively makes discrimination the law of the land in Mississippi, he also thinks that it could have unintended consequences. Moore thinks the wording of the new law is extremely vague. In fact, he thinks it’s so vague that if he refused to serve the authors of this monstrosity, he could claim he was doing so on the basis of a “sincerely held religious belief.” However, he believed that would be grossly improper, as it would effectively be saying that “I am better than other people” and that “my sin is different than other people.”
Moore thinks that Governor Phil Bryant and what passes for leadership in Mississippi have better things to do than churn out homophobic garbage like this. He pointed out that Mississippi’s infrastructure is a shambles, and also has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. But instead of tackling those problems, “we are passing hey-let’s-discriminate’ bills.
Moore knew he was potentially making a business-destroying move by taking a stand against bigotry. But he didn’t care one bit. Just after speaking with Montagne, he told his Facebook followers that he believes Jesus called him to serve “ESPECIALLY people that don’t love me or that I don’t like.” Paraphrasing Matthew 5:46 and Luke 6:32, he asked, “If we only love those who love us what credit is that to us?” Contrast this with the behavior of Melissa and Aaron Klein, the viciously homophobic Portland-area bakers who doxxed a lesbian couple after they complained about being turned away.
However, he has received an outpouring of support from across the nation. For instance, on Thursday someone made a meme of his blistering commentary on NPR.
A number of people have asked him if they can order his goods as a token of solidarity, but Moore declined; his cakes and other goodies are too perishable. However, on Saturday he announced that he plans to deliver free sweets and treats to homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, Boys and Girls Clubs, nursing homes, and other facilities across central Mississippi.
Moore doesn’t think he’s really a hero; he thinks that he’s just another stopped clock. I beg to differ, Mitchell. You’re taking a stand against hate and bigotry in one of the most fundified states in the nation. For my money, you’re a hero. Send him some love on Facebook and on Twitter.
