It's said that change comes gradually, and no one can force it. The same theory applies to the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. In the past few years, the LGBTQ+ community has received immense support from all over the world. People are finally giving the community the space they have long since deserved, but I feel it interferes with our rights. 

Some societies and religions are not comfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage. Most of this resistance comes from people like me, entrenched in religious beliefs.

As many religious people refused to accept going against our comforts, there was a denial of services to the LGBTQ community. Many cases were against service providers for their denial of services. The argument was the same in each case – "our religious beliefs don't allow this." As business owners, they felt it was their right to refuse service, just like it is their right not to be discriminated against.

Changes that affect the entire fabric of the community can't be forced. It has to be gradual.

Senate Bill 17 was meant to give certain rights to people who found it difficult to support the LGBTQ community. The bill is related to situations where an employee denies services to a member of the LGBTQ community based on their religious beliefs. 

This gives the state leverage to license professionals who faced legal actions for acting on behalf of religious beliefs and could not successfully defend themselves. 

The LGBTQ community is not happy about the bill and says it's just a step to protect those who stand against the LGBTQ community. Just like they have rights, we have rights too, and we demand to exercise those rights. 

This has sparked several debates regarding the exercise of religious freedom. If the LGBTQ community gets angry about this, it will only spark hatred amongst the bill's proponents. 

The bill was passed in 2019 with support because there is a caveat that a person can still be fired for not providing service. I fully support SB-17 which protects us from dealing with a situation we do not feel comfortable with.