Let them have their cake, so they can eat too.

A runner friend of mine is the general manager at the Brite Spot Diner in LA. I've never been, but hear rave reviews from tastebuds I admire. I always salivate over his decadent Instagram feed. Today's his photo in honor of the Human Rights Campaign for Marriage Equality got some thought provoking juices flowing, to which, I added my own caption. Without slathering it heavy with my own moralistic icing, I'll suffice it to say, that to me, this is a non-religious, civil rights issue.

The best way in which I can explain this stance is through the example of a business mogul who has chosen to uphold the rights of his employees, even in spite of the religious beliefs he holds personally. I appreciate J.W. Marriot's example in putting people above his "politics".  In a recent interview with Michel Martin from NPR's Tell Me More, he stated the following: 

"MARTIN: But you started the company - your parents started the company. It was 30 years before the civil rights movement and you've managed to grow this company. It is regularly on the list of the top places to work across Fortune, but a number of other places. And I was curious how you've managed to do that without stumbling into a lot of these culture war questions that seem to have tripped up a number of your fellow CEOs. I mean, I'm thinking more recently about like the chair of Chick-fil-A, who got a lot of - well, both negative and positive attention, depending on your point of view, when he took a very strong public stance around same-sex marriage. He's opposed to it. You've never been criticized for kind of stepping wrong on these questions. I'm interested in how you navigate these questions.

JR.: Well, we've always been in favor of equality and we believe that everybody should have a chance to learn, to grow, to be promoted, to provide for their families - if even if they don't have families. You know, we've never been segregated by race and never been segregated by sexual preference. We were one of the very first to come out with partner benefits. We should be giving opportunities to everybody, regardless of their sex, and their gender and their sexual preferences."

 

Let LGBT have cake (civil rights), so they can eat too!