"But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
I agree with the last part of his statement. “Enough is enough.”
North Carolina recently passed anti-discrimination legislation that provides protection to people based on race, religion, color, national origin and biological sex. It left out gender identification since the predicate for this legislation is the use of public restrooms and locker rooms. If the legislation extended protection to people based on gender-identification, any man could walk into a women’s bathroom or make use of a women’s locker room without repercussions. The man could claim “gender-identification” even if he had not started the process of a gender change or was completely disingenuous about his true gender identification. A predatory male could hide behind the law to walk into a woman’s locker room at a fitness center or spa and simply stare at any woman he chooses.
The LGBT community claims this is backdoor way of allowing businesses to discriminate against members of the LGBT community and these practices are hateful. For example, the LGBT community wants to make it illegal for a Christian photographer or Christian baker to deny entering into a contract to provide their services to a same-sex couple getting married. They want criminal charges and civil sanctions brought against these businesses. The business owners are considered “hateful” for declining business based on their religious beliefs. Their First Amendment rights are set aside.
Back to Mr. Reiner. He is a resident of California. He is not an elected official in the state of North Carolina. He cannot vote for federal, state or local officials that represent the residents of North Carolina. He is circumventing the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” He is trying to influence legislation in a state where he has no claim of residency.
Moreover, Mr. Reiner is trying to rally his colleagues to do the same. He is trying to financially punish the citizens of the state by withholding any business that might generate work within that state. The elected officials of North Carolina are trying to represent their constituents and Mr. Reiner is trying to short-circuit the democratic process by legislating through business. I find his behavior egregious.
But, Mr. Reiner has the right to voice his opinion under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He has a larger platform than most by way of his fame. I deplore his actions but I support his right to have his opinion and to state his opinion.
I have rights, too. And as long as have the right to practice the tenets of my faith, I will. If my faith is made illegal I pray for the courage to continue to practice its tenets knowing I assume certain risks and must be ready to suffer the earthly consequences for my eternal focus.
I am starting what may amount to a one-family boycott of Mr. Reiner and all his colleagues that seek to punish the residents of North Carolina, or residents of any other state, by threatening to take their business elsewhere. He has this right. I will, to the best of my ability, not watch any movies he produces, directs, appears in, or financially benefits from either directly or indirectly. I will refrain from purchasing any products or services of any businesses I learn support Mr. Reiner or his colleagues in the entertainment industry. I have that right. I will follow the lead of Joshua when he said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Obviously, I will not make so much as a blip in Mr. Reiner’s financial earnings. But I can’t help but wonder, how much impact would be made if every Christian decided to boycott his productions as well? And, what if, instead of buying a movie ticket to a Rob Reiner production, we gave that money to world missions, combating poverty, oppression and human trafficking?
