A restaurant owner is facing flak for offering his customers a religious discount and refusing to discontinue it despite having received complaints from the secular group Freedom From Religion Foundation. Steven Rose, who owns Bailey’s Pizza in Arkansas, said he offered a 10 percent discount on his restaurant’s Facebook page on July 19 for anyone that brought in a church bulletin. He was soon threatened by a user named Bong Hits for Jesus who wished him luck with a discrimination lawsuit.
“The comment read, ‘Good luck on your discrimination lawsuit.’ I didn’t give much credence to it,” Rose said.
What followed was a letter dated July 30 from FFRF that referred to Rose’s discount as an act of discrimination and a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Reportedly, the Wisconsin-based secular group was alerted by a local resident who found the discount offensive.
“The law requires places of public accommodation to offer their services to customers without regard to race, color, religion or national origin,” said Elizabeth Cavell, an attorney who works for the atheist group’s legal firm.
However, Rose, who is a devout Christian and has opened his restaurant only recently, said he was not in agreement with the assessment and that the discount was merely a ‘marketing tool’ that allowed him to draw religious people to his business.
“I didn’t want to exclude anyone. It was just like giving a discount to the Boy Scouts or the military and they made it an ugly thing.”
While FFRF has asked Rose to discontinue the discount, Rose has said that a lawyer he consulted told him FFRF “does not have a leg to stand on.” He elaborated that he would do away with the discount only if a judge told him that he was violating the law, but until then, he will stand by the fact that he has not violated any statutes.
“From their argument, if I’m giving a discount to the elderly, it’s agism. If I give one to police officers, I’m prejudiced against people who aren’t police officers....Short of [a judge's ruling] there’s nothing that they’re going to say to me that makes me waver on what I believe,” explained Rose.
Additionally, Rose made a very important point about the discount, saying one does not necessarily have to be a churchgoer to avail of it.
“I didn’t say you had to go to church. I said come in with a church bulletin....“[Atheists] can download it and bring it in,” he said, noting that some churches publish their Sunday bulletins on their websites.
Rose added that he was thrilled to receive support from conservative legal firms after FFRF sent in their complaint. In another recent incident, FFRF managed to convince Mary’s Gourmet Diner in North Carolina to withdraw a prayer discount after sending a similar letter to its owner Mary Haglund.
Photo Credit: The Blaze
