SOUTH DAKOTA: GOP Rep Reacts To Cake Ruling By Saying Businesses Should Have Right To Refuse Blacks

The Argus Leader reports:

A South Dakota lawmaker on Monday said businesses should be able to turn away customers based on race. In a Facebook comment, state Rep. Michael Clark, a Hartford Republican, said business owners should have the final say in who they serve.

“He should have the opportunity to run his business the way he wants,” Clark wrote. “If he wants to turn away people of color, then that(‘s) his choice.” The remarks came in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrow decision Monday siding with a Colorado baker that refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding. Clark posted a story and in the description celebrated the decision as a “win for freedom of speech and freedom of religion.”

In an interview with the Argus Leader, Clark said that business owners with strongly-held beliefs should be able to turn away customers. “If it’s truly his strongly based belief, he should be able to turn them away,” Clark said. “People shouldn’t be able to use their minority status to bully a business.”

Clark is running unopposed for reelection.