Considering other culture war examples

Re: “Conservative SCOTUS justices are relishing culture war,” Dec. 8 editorial

Aside from the inaccurate headline, the bias of The Denver Post is showing. I do not share the belief that it is a Christian principle to deny service to gay couples, but it is a deeply held religious belief for many. Large swaths of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam condemn same- sex marriage and homosexuality. The freedoms of religion and speech, enshrined in our Bill of Rights, are a key component of the freedom we enjoy as Americans.

Not surprisingly, not everyone believes the same thing. Nor are we required to do so. As recently as 2004, Barack Obama said, “Marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”

Only recently has Bill Clinton come out in support of same- sex marriage. In 1996, he signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a “legal union between one man and one woman” and prohibited the federal government from recognizing samesex marriage.

How would the editorial board members of The Denver Post feel about withholding services to an atheist, neo- Nazi couple who wanted swastikas and white supremacist messaging on their cake or website? You would view that differently, would you not?

We must not let “wokeism” destroy freedom of speech and religion.

Think about it.

— Richard Stacy, Highlands Ranch

After reading your editorial on SCOTUS and the culture wars, I got to thinking. First, this web designer has never been asked to produce a same- sex wedding website. It seems crazy that this case made it on the very narrow SCOTUS calendar. There has to be something to your argument that the majority is seeking out this case to make their point.

And then that led me to what else this web designer might find objectionable. What about a 4th of July family reunion with a tagline “One Family Not Under God,” or would she design for an atheist couple or, for that matter, any pair marrying under a different faith? It seems like cherry- picking to me to pick on LGBTQ folks. What else might she run into that crosses her belief system? Hmm?

— Judith Pettibone, Denver

Disregarding Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Neil Gorsuch’s fraternity antics that disgraced the Supreme Court last week, the easiest analogy to the 303 Creative case is this: If a gay couple wants to sit at lunch counter and eat, can a restaurant owner say, “I won’t serve them because of religious reasons?”

No.

Krista Kafer and her ilk are mistaken when they claim gender identity and sexual preference ( both very different things) are some kind of party game like KKK costumes at a mall. It’s how you’re born. You can choose your religion, and you were born with your skin color, etc.

Stop the hate.

— Dan Weitz, Niwot