Refusing service because of political party.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I'm talking about my opinion, not the law. My opinion is if people are doing this, than anyone can do it. That doesn't mean it's my opinion that everyone should be doing it, either.

^^^this.

Individual liberty means generally not being compelled by force of law to live contrary to one's own best judgement consistent with the common good and justice. To me that means, you are free to be as stupid as you want so long as you do not cause harm to others, directly by threats and violence, or indirectly by creating latent dangers, like building unsafe structures or dumping pollutants.

If a fancy restaurant can require men to wear jackets, I see no reason why another cannot ask someone to remove their MAGA hat or cover their BLM t-shirt. Apart from immanent danger and undue hardship, turning away prospective customers, for any reason or no reason at all, does no real harm. It may be demeaning, humiliating, frustrating, and/or infuriating but, other than emotional upset the rejected customer, walks away unscathed. And the business loses the sale it could have had. Everyone loses.

Although I am generally a libertarian, I recognize that securing personal liberties is not enough to maintain a free society. The preservation and enjoyment of those liberties requires a mostly virtuous and responsible populace. There may be a place for civil laws that proactively encourage virtue and foster civic responsibility...or not. I'm not sure what kind or to what degree. So I would rather err on the side of refraining from curtailing personal liberties or mandating behaviors than let state agencies and politicians decide for individuals what is in their own best interest.

Sexual preference should be a protected class in all of the states. It's not something someone can control.

To me gender identity simply doesn't rise to the level of race or ethnicity. A gender identity is defined by desires (not chosen) and the types of behaviors manifest in response to those desires (chosen). You cannot tell if someone has a certain gender orientation unless they tell you or telegraph it by doing something like a public display of affection. Race and ethnicity (to a lesser extent) are visibly objective, cannot be hidden, or changed. I could pretend to be gay but I could never pretend to be black, for example. I am NOT saying that gay people should have to hide or deny expressing who they are, only that there is a difference, maybe not of kind but most certainly of degree. Perhaps gender identity / sexual orientation should be a protected class but the case is not nearly as compelling as race or ethnicity.