UPDATE: Major victory as the final total was over $840,000! See next steps here!
UPDATE: The last day to donate is today and that number is now nearing $520,k as of 8:52am!
UPDATE: And that number continues to increase. *Nearly $110k as of 9:55am central time!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone out there who stood in the gap for business owners persecuted for their faith. We had the idea to create this GoFundMe account about 15 minutes before the show after I spoke with Crystal O'Connor, 21, and heard how she is worried that the intensity of the hatred over their stand for faith may make it impossible to continue to keep their doors open. The O'Connors were already dealing with hardship and it would have been easy for them to deny Christ for earthly gain and say what they thought the local affiliate wanted to hear. They could have avoided controversy, taken the easy way out. They didn't. They stood up for their faith and explained that while they serve all customers, for the particular function of a same sex ceremony they cannot as that ceremony is at odds with their faith. We just put up the page, you actually made it happen. We were blown away by the number of donations, the amounts; some gave $100, some gave $5. Every bit matters to these folks who can't earn a living because the world has gone mad and they're at the epicenter of this particular storm.
This isn't a social issue and don't pay any mind to those who want to obfuscate the real matter at hand with the “social issues” veneer. Those who are protesting against religious freedom are demanding that the government determine the sincerity of a religious belief, that government determine when someone can practice their faith, and for the government to determine where someone can practice their faith. That's not the free excercise of religion.
Thank you all for standing in the gap. This is the real culture war. Never leave someone on the field when they're standing for faith. Never let them stand alone.
To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/MemoriesPizza
