# Thou Shalt Not Hire Gays **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 6, 1999, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579 "1999-11-06T05:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Phaedrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@Phaedrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phaedrus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/21 "1999-11-09T09:37:00Z")
As a businessman I hire who I please. I would never hire a gay or lesbian. As a Christian am I supposed to love them? Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to hire them. * * * That which a man had rather were true he more readily believes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@John\_John](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_John)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/22 "1999-11-09T13:15:00Z")
* * * > [@](#): > > As a businessman I hire who I please. I would never hire a gay or lesbian. As a Christian am I supposed to love them? Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to hire them ## Suppose this gay person was the most qualified person and the straight person had no qalifications for the position, which one would you hire? “All rising to a great place is by a winding stair.” F.Bacon Brille ---
**Author:** ![Snark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Snark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/23 "1999-11-09T13:51:00Z")
What if you didn’t know they were gay? Or if they were trying to change and were in the middle of that process? (I.E., they were **Christian** gays)? Would you hire a known adulterer or fornicator? A sinner in general? IMHO, sexual orientation doesn’t have anything to do with competency on the job. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/24 "1999-11-09T14:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > As a businessman I hire who I please. I would never hire a gay or lesbian. As a Christian > am I supposed to love them? Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to hire them. Yeah, right, “love them.” I have rarely encountered a more twisted, hate-filled person than you, Slappy. ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/25 "1999-11-09T16:26:00Z")
Wait a minute here… > [@](#): > > As a businessman I hire who I please. I would never hire a gay or lesbian. How the hell would you know they’re gay? Isn’t it illegal to ask in a hiring situation? If so, I hope you ask and get sued for it. Gotta go with Phil here…you may be full of something, Phaed, but it ain’t Christian love. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/26 "1999-11-09T16:32:00Z")
“And who is my true son, the one who said ‘Lord, Lord,’ or the one who did my will.” (Slight paraphrase, since I don’t have a Bible at hand, but the verse should be obvious. That kind of ‘Christian love,’ my dear Phaedrus, is why the term is in such disrepute among non-Christians. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![Phaedrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@Phaedrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phaedrus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/27 "1999-11-10T06:40:00Z")
Stirring the pot, my loved ones, just stirring the pot, Praise the LORD!!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/28 "1999-11-09T19:58:00Z")
**Phaedrus** , if you are the business man you claim to be, how is it that you’re able to make your posts in the wee hours of the morning? (His “I won’t hire gays” post was made at 3:37 AM CST.) Do you live in Europe? If so, American hiring laws would not apply to him, folks. And for a European, you have a remarkable command of American idioms. * * * Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to relive it. Georges Santayana ---
**Author:** ![Phaedrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@Phaedrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phaedrus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 1999, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/29 "1999-11-12T09:25:00Z")
jab1: being self-employed does have advantages, eh? 😉 * * * That which a man had rather were true he more readily believes. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 1999, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/30 "1999-11-20T06:44:00Z")
I just refuse to let Phaedrus have the last word here. Has anybody addressed the “it’s illegal to ask” issue? Phaedrus, what would you do if you hired someone, they were doing a good job, and (for reasons outside work) you found out they were gay? I’m presuming you did not ask at the hiring interview. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 1999, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/31 "1999-11-20T06:49:00Z")
You refuse to let him have the last word, but then you _ask him a question_?! Jeez, man, it’ll take him weeks just to explain what he thinks “gay” means… ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 1999, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/32 "1999-11-19T19:00:00Z")
…and it will have absolutely no relation to what the rest of the world thinks “gay” is, but he’ll find some dictionary that defines “gay” as “an immoral person with bad BO who sets kittens on fire during work hours” and _insist_ that this is the only proper definition, and only a fool who CANNOT THINK CLEARLY OR REASON CRITICALLY would think otherwise and how can you hire someone who sets kittens on fire during work hours and it is clearly based on bad philosophy to believe that gay people might only be persons who prefer sexual partners of the same gender… ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 1999, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/33 "1999-11-19T19:05:00Z")
I just wanna know why he’s against hiring happy people! ---
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 1999, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/34 "1999-11-19T20:16:00Z")
I have been avoiding this thread. I only have one thing to say, my very good friend James back in San Antonio was fired from his teaching job because he was gay. He taught second grade bilingual education. It is and was completely wrong; however, he was afraid to take a stand against it because if he did Texas’s sodomy laws (at the time) would have then made him a convicted felon. woohoo. {notice the lack of capital letters and a period rathe than an exclamation point} Texas for that matter supposedly “repealed” their sodomy laws, but the state congresspeople were sure to remind us in the state that homosexuality was still illegal. Lot’s of fun. I am so happy I am not there anymore. HUGS! Sqrl BTW, now it is easier to defend one’s self in Texas in the courts, but not much. * * * Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/35 "1999-11-23T21:43:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I just wanna know why he’s against hiring happy people! I’m experiencing less and less gaiety by the minute… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/36 "2000-03-01T21:25:00Z")
Otto mentioned having lost his job because of being gay. I remembered this moribund thread, and in view of the gay discussions now scattered across the board, I decided to resurrect it for him. ---
**Author:** ![Flinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@Flinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flinx)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/37 "2000-03-01T21:50:00Z")
I’d just like to clarify that I am very opposed to discriminating against gays by not hiring them simply because they’re gay. I think that this is a bigoted practice that should be legislated against. I know I’m gonna catch hell from Esprix and Otto for seeming to be on one side of the fence on this issue, and on the other side on the gay marriage issue, but that’s where I stand. No employer should be legally allowed to say, “I won’t hire you simply because you’re gay.” ::: Donning asbestos undies ::: * * * The poster formerly known as “Snark.” (Don’t ask.) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2000, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/38 "2000-03-01T22:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Otto mentioned having lost his job because of being gay. I remembered this moribund thread, and in view of the gay discussions now scattered across the board, I decided to resurrect it for him. [sarcasm] Gee, thanks a heap, I needed another active thread to be one-note in. [/sarcasm] Someone asked earlier about a lawsuit seeking to void an anti-discrimination ordinance. That case is ongoing in Kentucky under one of the local “fairness ordinances.” A doctor is suing to void it, claiming that as a Christian not being allowed to refuse to hire a gay person would violate his First Amendment rights. I have not seen the briefs on this, which one would presume would spell out just how a secular working environment is analogous to a religion. The suit, from what I’ve read, is not expected to go anywhere. The more dangerous threat comes from a case out of Alaska, where a court struck down a law banning discrimination on the basis of marital status because a Xian landlord claimed renting to an unmarried couple would violate his religious beliefs. While the case does not deal directly with anti-gay discrimination, a final decision in favor of the landlord would have overwhelmingly negative implications for all civil rights laws. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/39 "2000-03-02T14:48:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Flinx: > > I’d just like to clarify that I am very opposed to discriminating against gays by not hiring them simply because they’re gay. I think that this is a bigoted practice that should be legislated against. I know I’m gonna catch hell from Esprix and Otto for seeming to be on one side of the fence on this issue, and on the other side on the gay marriage issue, but that’s where I stand. No employer should be legally allowed to say, “I won’t hire you simply because you’re gay.” No, I understand why you think that way - jobs are strictly a civil matter, but marriages have religious connotations. I of course disagree completely, but I understand your reasoning. See? I’m not such a bad guy… 🙂 Esprix * * * Next time I want your opinion I’ll beat it out of you. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579/40 "2000-03-02T17:37:00Z")
Otto…sorry! I had thought you might want to vent on the issue in a fairly friendly forum. Mea culpa! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-shalt-not-hire-gays/17579.md?page=3)