Senator Emery Really Wants to Discriminate Against "The Homosexual Community"

Senator Kurt Schaefer, Senator Ed Emery and Representative Elijah Haahr want to allow religious groups on college campuses to discriminate while enjoying all the benefits of being subsidized by public funds through the university. They claim that they're trying to protect "religious speech and religious association,” even those aren't actually threatened by universities' nondiscrimination policies. Indeed, we read in The Kansas City Star today that "there have been no religious groups targeted on Missouri campuses" — and that's according to supporters of the bill. 

So what are these bills actually about? Here's how Sen. Emery explained his support for the 'license to discriminate' proposal to The Star: 

In the Missouri Senate, Republican Sens. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia and Ed Emery of Lamar are co-sponsoring the legislation, which was approved earlier this month by the Education Committee on a party-line vote.
     
There was a time, Emery said, when people choosing to segregate themselves with those who shared their beliefs wasn’t seen as improper. But now, he said, certain groups are demanding that anyone who doesn’t share their worldview be silenced.
    
“These groups, which are usually pretty small groups like the homosexual community, are saying you have to accommodate us,” Emery said. “We don’t care if you don’t agree with us. You have to accommodate us.”

He said this on the record. Out loud. To a reporter.

It's simple: Discrimination against Missouri college and university students, or anyone, is wrong. If student groups want to discriminate against LGBT Missourians (or anyone else in violation of universities' nondiscrimination rules), the rest of us shouldn't be subsidizing it.