From a reader:

Surely, you would not allow such company policy to be against US federal or state law,…What if its company policy at such pharmacy to refuse service, of any kind, to current members of any branch of the US Military or veterans thereof and their respective families, because the owner does not support the war? How about refusing to serve fatties, ugly people? short or tall people? Your reference to ”free from state interference,” would say allow owners to discriminate against employees who refuse to discrimate on basis of race, gender, religion, etc…How about a company policy that required employees to wait on certain customers, say white males, before servicing other customers- not denying service just making them wait longer?

It’s sad but true that we need laws against discrimination, because people have been so terrible in the past and some still are. That’s what I meant when I said we don’t live in an “ideal world.”

But that doesn’t give the government carte blanche to put as many burdens as possible on business owners and make them use their means to do something contrary to their beliefs. That includes placing burdens on them like laws that mandate discrimination, like this pharmacy law that has been temporarily suspended.