US: Boycott planned for food shop as owner concerned gay marriage will lead to paedophilia
A boycott has been planned for a soon-to-open non-GM food store in the US state of Oregon, due to the owner’s anti-gay views.
Despite saying the store would not refuse to serve anyone, its owner, Chauncy Childs, has expressed on her personal Facebook page that she opposes same-sex marriage, and said she fears it will lead to the acceptance of paedophilia and bigamy.
Childs said, however, that those were her personal religious views, and did not reflect how the business would operate.
Despite these assertions, social media erupted with debate over the furore surrounding the Moreland Farmers Pantry.
In a long post, Childs said of equal marriage:”A tiny minority is dictating a change of our social structure.”
In response, a neighbour posted a seven-minute long video showing Childs as the owner, quoting her views, and saying she tried to change her Facebook name.
Childs responded to say: “We aren’t discriminating,” Childs said. “We have no anti-gay or anti-racial bias or anything like that. We have members of our family who are homosexual.”
“We’re not going to refuse to serve anybody,” she continued. “But we believe a private business should have the right to live their conscience.”
Tom Brown of the Sellwood-Moreland Business Alliance, said: “They’re choosing to open a business in a very open-minded neighbourhood… I think their personal views are going to hurt.”
Despite the threats of boycott, Childs has said she will go ahead with the opening of the store. She plans to sell non-GM foods, some from a farm she owns.
