Bob CollinsWhether the Indiana “religious freedom” law is an attempt to discriminate against gays has been, obviously, open to debate, but it’s worked out really well for a pizza shop owner who declared that it sure does give her the right to discriminate.
Things looked dire for Memories Pizza of Walkerton, Indiana after Kevin and Crystal O’Connor said they would not provide pizza to any gay couple’s wedding, even though they said they’d sell single slices and the occasional whole pie to a gay customer who walked through the door.
Of course, the odds were no gay couple was going to ask them to cater their wedding, but that wasn’t really the point. They were speaking of a hypoethical situation to say they agreed with the law as they interpreted it.
The pushback was enormous. The owners said they got enough phone calls and threats that they closed the business yesterday until the dust settles.
It might be the best thing they ever did. Supporters of the O’Connors’ view of the law started a fundraising page and raised $50,000 in the first 11 hours, and by this afternoon the tally stood at nearly $200,000 $258,000.
The couple owners say they didn’t set up the account and they aren’t sure whether they’ll see any of the money. They did, however, set up a fundraising account on Facebook, which they said was taken down as part of the campaign against them.
It’s not working out so well for the Memories Gourmet Pizza Company of Nichols, Wisconsin. Their Facebook page has been inundated by protestors and supporters in the online offensive as people mistake their Facebook page for the Indiana shop.
“I am uncertain as too what this outcry is about,” Michael Premeau and Kathy Danke posted. “This company is located in Wisconsin. WE do not tolerate bigotry in our personal or professional lives.”
“This misinformation,” Premeau tells GreenBay.com. “Defamation of character could cause me to lose the business over someone else’s identify in another state.”
