(OPINION) President Joe Biden’s recent claim that gay people “can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant” in the afternoon was rated by the fact-checking site PolitiFact as “mostly true” on Friday.
Fox News reported that during the White House “Pride Month 2023” event on June 10, Biden gave a speech in support of the LGBTQ community. One particular point that drew backlash was his claim that restaurants kick gay people out on the basis of their sexual orientation.
“When a person can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant for being gay in the afternoon, something is still very wrong in America,” Biden said.
While the claim was heavily scrutinized and criticized when he made it in December, PolitiFact deemed it as “mostly true” based on the fact that 22 states do not have anti-discrimination laws based on orientation.
“Although it drew criticism, Biden’s illustration is not without factual backing. Same-sex marriage is federally protected, but dining in a restaurant with your same-sex spouse is not,” the fact-check reads.
“Some states have passed anti-discrimination laws, but in 22 states, it is legal under state law for proprietors to refuse service to customers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Local areas may have anti-discrimination ordinances, but it varies.”
The fact-check acknowledged that it was “unclear how commonly people are asked to leave businesses due to their sexual orientation or gender identity,” but it continued arguing that it is “legally allowed” in many states.
“However, it is hard to tell how often this sort of discrimination actually occurs and where. We found news reports of same-sex couples being refused service as recently as 2021, but one expert said these instances are on the decline.
There’s not good data on how often LGBTQ+ people are still discriminated against in public places, but Biden is accurate that it can happen in America, and is legally allowed in nearly half of the states in the U.S,” it reads. “By these standards, PolitiFact reasoned that Biden’s comments are accurate and only “need clarification.”
