"While my partner and I were finishing our meal, our nice waitress came up and politely asked if she could get us anything else. We said 'no' and asked for our check. She asked if we would like separate checks and we again said 'no', which prompted her to ask, "Oh, are you two a couple?" Smith and his partner indicated yes, taking the waitress' polite tone as 'typical Midwest response' to seeing a couple so proud, open and gay sharing a meal.
The couple's patience with the waitress' gaffe soon turned to anger, however, when the receipt at right was presented to them. After all of their standard charges, a 'gay tax' appeared. Angered, Smith immediately called the waitress back to the table. "What is this," Smith asked, completely angered. The waitress quickly apologized and explained she would immediately call her manager out to explain everything. The manager of the restaurant read Smith the following explanation from a small placard:
"Our establishment is protected by the Religious Freedom Bill, which grants our staff the right to not serve gay customers. We believe in equal opportunity so we do let all people eat here, but we do train our staff to screen suspiciously gay customers as the law allows. Since gays dining in this establishment can create an uncomfortable dining experience for families, we offset this cost and risk with the Gay Tax you see on your receipt. Our establishment's regular customer base has also expressed concern that we will allow gays to eat here. They are concerned that dishes utilized by gay customers have a higher risk of containing pathogens associated with the gay lifestyle. We offset this concern by offering a higher level of dishwashing that far exceeds industry standards and requirements. To offset the cost of this process when serving gay customers, we kindly apply the 'Gay Tax' so all parties can enjoy a meal at our establishment."Smith and his partner paid for their meal and vowed to continue to encourage protests of all facilities in Indiana who show active support of the Religious Freedom Bill.