The advocates of anti-discrimination legislation believe that individuals should be protected from unfairness and stupidity. They want government to prohibit actions that they deem to be wrong or offensive. They want government to protect their “rights.” For example, blacks, women, and gays have all demanded special laws that prohibit discrimination against them, and they have defended such laws by claiming that discrimination violates their rights.
Such demands imply that blacks, women, and other minorities have rights that are separate and distinct from whites, men, and the majority. But there is no such thing as black rights, women’s rights, or LGBT rights. There are only individual rights, and they apply to all individuals no matter their race, sex, or sexual orientation. To claim otherwise is to believe that rights apply to groups but not to individuals.
Individual rights recognize and protect the freedom of individuals to act on their own judgment, so long as they respect the freedom of others to do the same.
As an example, individual rights protect the freedom of individuals to enter into relationships with whomever they choose, so long as all parties are acting voluntarily. If two individuals wish to get married, they have a moral right to do so, regardless of their sex. Gay marriage is not an issue of “gay rights.” It is an issue of individual rights applied within a specific context.
As another example, individual rights protect the freedom of individuals to exercise control over their own bodies. If a woman wishes to have a medical procedure performed and can find a willing health care professional, she has a moral right to have that procedure. Abortion is not an issue of “women’s rights.” It is an issue of individual rights applied within a specific context.
Similarly, if an individual refuses to bake a cake for a gay wedding or refuses to perform an abortion, it is not an issue of religious “rights.” It is an issue of individual rights applied within a specific context.
In each of these examples, individuals have a moral right to act on their own judgment. That right doesn’t come from their sexual orientation, their gender, or their religious beliefs. It comes from their status as individuals. All individuals possess the same fundamental right—the right to live as they choose.
The principle of individual rights applies to all issues in all contexts. If gay individuals wish to marry, they have that moral right. If a baker wishes to refuse to bake a cake for them, he has that moral right. Each individual has a moral right to act on his own independent judgment, free from coercion.
Much of the animosity in contemporary politics arises from treating rights as a phenomenon that applies to groups rather than individuals. The result is a constant competition between groups to assert their “rights.” Invariably, the “rights” of the group conflict with the actual rights of individuals.
For example, anti-discrimination laws prevent individuals—employers, landlords, and others—from using their property as they choose. They are prohibited from using the criteria of their choosing when hiring, renting, or otherwise associating with others. Their right to property and freedom of association is denied under the guise of protecting the “rights” of minorities, gays, and women.
If we want the freedom to live our lives as we choose, we must defend and respect the freedom of others to do the same. We may not always like the choices that they make, but others will not always like the choices that we make. Individual rights protect our freedom to live as we choose, no matter who or how many disagree.