Snyder Drug-Part 1

I got busy this week, so I am a little late to the whole made-up 'controversy' over Snyder Drug. You see, some business owners here in town have the audacity to suggest that they have the legal right (they do) to not sell the drugs they choose not to sell (Tribune piece here.)

Dave at GreaterFalls has a good summary with links to outrage all over the blogosphere. I have read most of the comments that are readily accessible and maybe I can add a little new information to the mix, as well as a slightly different perspective.

I'm going to start by providing a little background and context about the owners of Snyder Drug. Then I'll address the various 'arguments' as to why some on the left believe a businessman needs to be compelled to act in accordance with the left's beliefs.

First of all, I know Stuart Anderson and Kurt Depner, two of the proprietors of Snyder Drug. My kid played ball with one of their kids and I would often see both of them at the games. I also see them both a couple times a week, and know them reasonably well. From that perspective, I am amazed at how quickly some asses on the left will demonize these two individuals, these two people, when all the leftists really know is that they disagree with them on one political issue. Wow, I thought the liberals were supposed to be the compassionate ones. Go figure.

Take it from me: Kurt and Stuart are good guys. They work hard, take care of their families, and do their part for the community. They are not prissy naysayers. I have had beers with one of them (I won't say which), but they drink and joke and have fun just like the rest of us. Not once in the extensive amount of time I have spent with them have I ever heard one of them tell someone else what he or she should or shouldn't do, or even suggest such a thing. Not once in all the years I have known them, have I ever heard one of them criticize another for his or her behavior or beliefs. The small-minded leftist caricature of them as right-wing extremists bent on imposing their will on society is just that, a caricature. If Stuart and Kurt weren't my friends, I would just say the leftists are silly, but they are my friends so I'll say that you who are willing to judge them without knowing them are a$$holes.

So, there's a little background. We have two families who own a business. They're good people, but they don't agree with everyone on certain moral and political issues.

Presently, the law does not require them to sell any particular product. So, distilled down, that is what we are talking about. When those on the left say that Snyder Drug should "have to" sell birth control, they are arguing that the majority of citizens should pass a law that requires them to sell oral contraceptives.

A look at the arguments next.