Houston Landscaper Accused of Bigotry

[Ian David]

Houston Landscaper Accused of Bigotry

HOUSTON (AP) -- A few short weeks ago, Garden Guy was just a mom-and-pop landscaping business that promoted itself as "making Houston beautiful since 1991" and promised to treat its customers with respect and honesty. Since then, though, the business has been vilified around the world as a bunch of bigots because its Christian conservative owners refused to do work for a gay couple.

<snip>

Stunned, Lackey forwarded the e-mail to 200 friends, asking them not to patronize Garden Guy and urging them to pass the word on to friends and family. "I'm still shocked by the ignorance that exists in today's society," Lackey said in his e-mail.

<snip>

"It was just our intent to uphold our rights as small business owners to choose our clientele," she said. "All the hate, the threats of sodomizing my children, the threats of me being murdered, came out because of a very businesslike straightforward e-mail I sent. The crowd of tolerance and diversity is not so tolerant."

<snip>

"Imagine if it had been a black or Hispanic couple that they wouldn't provide services to. It's really bad," said Jack Valinski, a Houston gay activist. "A lot of gay couples have kids, live in the suburbs and have neighbors that are straight. Yet, we still have instances like this. There is still always that underlying discrimination we all have to deal with."

Houston, unlike Austin and Dallas, has no ordinance prohibiting businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Farber's e-mail reached the Harrisburg, Pa., offices of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, which said that the Farbers were misrepresenting themselves as current members of the group and no longer belong.

More:
http://www.wrex.com/News/index.php?ID=11693

[rpannier]

1. I hope the boycott holds and they go out of business

But, I doubt that will happen. There are too many members of the American Taliban out there that will give them business.

If people did send e-mails about sodomizing their children (which I'm not convinced did happen) then those people are wrong and seriously need therapy (or an ass kicking -- I'm opting for ass kicking).

[Ian David]

3. You know what would suck worse than a boycott?

Calling them to schedule appointments and then, when they show-up, saying, "Oh, we're gay! Sorry to waste your time!"

Imagine just a dozen people per month doing that.

[AlienGirl]

6. I like your style!

Somehow, I imagine if they found themselves actively having to turn down money because of their bigotry, they'd have an attitude adjustment.

Tucker

[Ian David]

10. Time is money. Sending a crew to a home and being turned away with no work...

well, it would get expensive after a while.

[Vorta]

8. Sweet. eom

[baldguy]

2. Sounds like a business opportunity to me.

"I won't make you take a sex test before I mow your lawn."

[Duncan Grant]

4. Manicure not the lawns of homosexuals. So sayeth the Lord.

Life as a gay person in America is an amazing thing. There's no end to the insanity.

[donco6]

5. LOL!

That's a good one.

If this happened to me, I would be just unbelievably pissed.

[LeftCoast]

9. The 11th commandment?

Good one! :)

[Vorta]

7. Isn't it better to know who these people are?

I prefer it to having them give us a weak smile and grudging service before they vote against us? All businesses should put a big old sign in front of their businesses saying who they would rather not serve.

Seriously.

Dominoes - we would rather not serve women who have had or expect to have an abortion, doctors who perform abortions, or anyone who supports a woman's right to choose to have an abortion.

Exxon- We would rather not serve gay people, we thought you would get that after we eliminated the Mobil Oil DP benefits program when we absorbed their employees.

God knows that would be better than going into some place that doesn't want you there.

[ruggerson]

11. Have you seen their website?

The before and after shots look pathetic.

[Vorta]

12. Tired, uninspired, symetrical, boring......

But in fairness, one has to deal with client tastes. I'm flipping a house right now and have to think in terms of what looks good to my target buyer, not what looks fabulous to me.

I did wonder if that was a piece of sewer pipe decoratively placed in the walkway replanting.

[Vorta]

13. Gay couple accused of setting this up

Some folks on the net have said that the gay couple deliberately solicited these folks to see if it would lead to a situation. Now, having been to the website, I would say it's quite possible for a person to visit that site and miss the religious stuff at the bottom. The religious references and "defense" of marriage stuff really gets lost in your typical bottom-of-a-website garbage.