No cake for them in Maine!

No cake for them in Maine!

Sen. David Burns, R-Whiting, said he’s moving forward with the proposal in Maine despite a national controversy that includes boycotts by gay-rights activists against Indiana businesses, sanctions by other states and even a call to move the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament from Indianapolis. Businesses, including Wal-Mart and Apple, also have urged states to reject the proposals. […] Burns is aware of the controversy. “I put it in last year, and I thought it should have passed last year,” he said. “I think it’s reasonable and I think it’s needed. Historically, as you’ve been hearing over and over again, there has not been any bad ramifications because of it (the federal act) in 20 years. I don’t know what the hoopla is all about. Well, I suspect I do.”

Bigots are very slow learners. Despite the trainwreck that ensued in Indiana and Arkansas over so-called "religious freedom" laws that allow businesses to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, one Maine lawmaker is undaunted, and intends to forge ahead with his effort to ruin Maine's reputation.Since 2005, Maine has had a law on the books that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the intervening decade, there haven't been an examples of that law interfering with anyone's religion that Burns can point to. In 2012, the state voted for marriage equality. All the gay weddings since then—with their Big Gay Cakes and their Big Gay Flowers—also haven't caused anyone to have their religion infringed upon. Nonetheless, the "deeply Christian" Burns apparently believes he knows best.