Atheist Group To Sue Pizza Parlor For Giving Discounts For Church Bulletins

by Cassy Fiano | August 25, 2014 12:07 pm

Atheists seem to be on a mission to do all they can to make everyone in the world hate them. Case in point: they’re suing a pizza parlor for offering a small discount to customers who bring in a church bulletin.

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Steven Rose loves Jesus and pepperoni pizza.

But when the Searcy, Arkansas restaurateur decided to mix church and cheese it gave a group of out-of-town atheists a bad case of indigestion.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is threatening to sue Steven after he offered a discount to customers who bring in a church bulletin. They said Bailey’s Pizza is violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“The law requires places of public accommodation to offer their services to customers without regard to race, color, religion or national origin,” FFRF spokesperson Elizabeth Cavell told television station KTHV.

Steven, who opened the pizza parlor in July, told me there’s nothing nefarious about the church bulletin discount.

“It was a straight-up marketing tool to give a discount to people I love and care about — and have them come in and have lunch with me,” he said. “I thought it was a sweet idea. I didn’t say you had to go to church to get it. Go get a bulletin from your neighbor and come in and have a pizza.”

… The FFRF has a history of targeting and bullying Christian business owners. Earlier this month, a North Carolina diner dropped a discount for customers who prayed before their meal.

“We are no longer issuing the 15% praying in public discount,” read a sign posted at the Mary’s Gourmet Diner. “It is illegal and we are being threatened by lawsuit. We apologize to our community for any offense this discount has incurred.”

Why must atheist groups like FFRF be so ill-tempered?

So is it really unconstitutional for restaurants to provide religious-themed discounts? Not at all, says Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Liberty Institute.

“In fact, if what FFRF is saying were true, restaurants and other businesses would be precluded from giving veterans and military members discounts because that would technically be discriminating based on veteran status,” Sasser tells me. “Is that what FFRF wants? Give me a break!”

… Steven tells me it’s really sad that the FFRF is spending their money attack his restaurant.

“The 75 cents that somebody saves when they bring in a church bulletin — is that really what they need to be spending their money on?” he asked. “How about spending that money helping the homeless?”

For now — the church discount will remain at Bailey’s Pizza.

“As for me and my house, we’ll serve the Lord,” he told me.

Is this nothing more than a case of misery loves company? The atheists, at least at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, are sad, miserably, lonely, angry people, and therefore, they have to do everything they can to make everyone else feel the same way they do. It’s the only rational explanation for an organization that will spend millions to stop a minute discount from being given to customers — the equivalent of peeing in someone’s cheerios and asking them to pay you to do it.

Also see: Why Does God Allow Bad Things To Happen To Good People?[2]