Posted on 10/21/2006 2:30:15 PM PDT by GOP_Thug_Mom
Rick Casey
Oct. 19, 2006, 10:04PM We refuse to work for homosexuals
By RICK CASEY
It's hard to imagine that when Sabrina Farber sent out an e-mail Wednesday she had any idea what kind of firestorm it would set off.
At 9:08 a.m. Farber, who together with her husband, Todd, owns Garden Guy Inc., a landscaping company on Hillcroft, hit "send" on a message that delivered a painful blow with the verbal equivalent of a smiley face.
"Subject: Cancel Appt - Garden Guy
"Dear Mr. Lord,
"I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you contacted us. I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals.
"Best of luck in finding someone else to fill your landscaping needs.
"All my best,
"Sabrina"
'Marriage is under attack' Michael Lord, who is building a house in the Heights with his partner, told me he had found the company through an Internet search. He liked the "before and after" photos on the company Web site.
He said he didn't notice, at the bottom of one of the pages, under a photo of the Farbers and their four children, this:
"The God-ordained institution of marriage is under attack in courts across the nation, and your help is needed.
"Go to: www.nogaymarriage.com to take action."
Lord said he filled out a form on the Farbers' Web site and received a return e-mail expressing enthusiasm for the project. He called the company Wednesday morning to set up an appointment.
"Mrs. Farber kept referring to me and my wife," said Lord. "I told her it was actually my partner."
One-word message: WOW He said she didn't say anything about that on the phone, but five minutes after they agreed to a Sunday appointment and hung up, he received the e-mail quoted above.
At 9:17 a.m. Lord forwarded the message to his partner, Gary Lackey, with a one-word message: "WOW."
At 10:01, Lackey sent the message to a list of friends, some of whom forwarded it to their friends.
By Thursday, a national Internet discussion was under way.
Kirsten Ott of Atlanta learned of it from a bulletin sent out by one of her MySpace friends, with the subject line: "Please read, contact them and repost!! Fight this!!"
By the time she alerted me by e-mail, I had already received several others.
I reached the Farbers by phone, but they declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a forum on the Farbers' Web site, www.garden-guy.com, was heating up.
Messages ranged from the angry-but-reasonable to the abusive.
"I am embarrassed for you and your husband," wrote "Chris." "Just as you choose not to do business with us, I, my friends, my family, my co-workers and everyone I meet, will not do business with you! I have sent your e-mail to over 50 people I know and work with. These people know 50 others each ... was your bigotry worth it?"
A writer who said he is a Houston architect wrote that he was glad to learn of their policy so he could avoid sending anyone to them.
"Renting a billboard might not have been as effective as cancelling an appointment by an easily redistributed e-mail, and not having the God-given guts to convey your stance over the telephone."
Many of the postings indicated they would boycott the Garden Guy. Some challenged the Farbers' version of Christianity. I found one that was critical of the angry correspondents.
"There is more hate in these posts than in the original e-mail," wrote "Dave." "Why do you feel that we Christians MUST accept you? Don't you find it ironic that while you demand in one breath that we give up our position that Homosexuality is a sin worthy of hell, that you condemn us to that very place in your next?"
A few posts were crude. Perhaps that's why the Farbers removed the "forum" feature from their site about midday Thursday. When I last checked, there were more than 60 messages viewed by more than 4,000 visitors.
Were I posting, I would commend the Farbers for standing by their principles in an age where money trumps all.
They might, however, consider climbing up one more rung on the moral ladder.
They should refuse to do business with all sinners.
You can write to Rick Casey at P.O. Box 4260, Houston, TX 77210, or e-mail him at rick.casey@chron.com.
oops--think I was supposed to put "Rick Casey" as the author. How can we correct that?
I can understand why a Christian printer would refuse to print pro-homosexual literature, or a caterer would refuse to cater a union of butt buddies. Heck, I would never design an explicitly pro-sodomite web site. But landscaping? I don't get it.
If a homosexual couple asked me to design a website to sell office supplies, or televisions, or to promote a flower shop or something, I wouldn't think twice about it.
Landscaping a yard for someone is not participating in their sin, for goodness sake.
Not from me. I'm curious if they treat all sinners this way?
Exactly.
I agree. And like the book says, "The wealth of the sinners is laid up for the just."
But seriously, didn't Joseph work for an ungodly Pharaoh? Joseph was such a good steward of the Pharaoh's money, that he got promoted and became very rich himself.
I hardly think that Pharaoh was any more righteous than these two homosexuals.
Already posted:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1723571/posts
yitbos
I do not support them. Their position seems overwrought and dogmatic. They were just asked to do some landscaping work. I do not understand why the clients' lifestyle choices were relevant.
Do they refuse to do work for someone who has divorced?
This said, I believe that they should be free to associate with whomever they want. Refusing to do work for someone is not illegal. But when they make their bigotry public, they should be prepared to suffer social opprobrium.
http://www.garden-guy.com/
You can email him from this website. Yes, we all should support and congratulate him!
If nothing else, there doesn't seem much logic to their refusal to do business with the homosexuals. Rather than make a fairly pointless and counterproductive statement, it would've been much smarter to just take the homosexuals' money and, say, donate it to their church or that group opposed to gay marriage. Instead, the homosexuals will probably just make a point of finding a homosexual landscaper now from the ads in a gay publication perhaps.
I wouldn't refuse their business for something like that either.
BUT, I support the gardener's freedom to do so.
I believe you are wrong. Would you work for a child molestor?
As do I. As a Christian businessman, however, I would have handled it differently.
Good idea.
One day you will stand before the Almighty to be judged. Was your fornication worth it?
This should be his choice. Just as it should be a homosexual's to not perform work for a heterosexual.
Sexual preference should not be a "protected" class from either side.
I had a homosexual come into my business a few weeks ago and did everything possible to sell him.
When he left, I had $300 of his in MY pocket.
Our church got some. My kids got some.
... And my wife got the rest. lol
I don't think it has to do with not doing business with sinners. As all have sinned. But there is a difference in being a sinner who realizes their sin and one who says what they are doing is not sinful and wants to force that view on everyone else. Not only force it but make it legally acceptable and legally enforceable by the power of the government to punish you. It would be like doing yard work for activists for making murder normal, or stealing, or lying or in this case sodomy. There is a big difference in accepting sinners and accepting those who claim their sin is not a sin. Free country. That is until homosexuals get protected group status by the government then the government will force you to work for them and your freedom of association is taken away.
I consider homosexuals to be disgusting, sick bastards. That doesn't mean I wouldn't take their money. Child molesters, however, are pure evil and should be shunned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.