EDITOR’S NOTE: Senate Bill 283 passed out of the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee Wednesday on a 3-2 party line vote, with all Republicans on the committee voting yes. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for debate.

Well you have to credit the Trump phenomenon with one thing, Americans and even elected officials no longer feel the need to be coy about their bigotry.

Colorado state Sen. Kevin Lundberg and five other usual suspects openly and cheerfully invite you to discriminate against gays, Mexicans, Muslims, blacks, godless liberals, pick anybody you hate and include them here — but especially gays.

These half-dozen dandies are backing Senate Bill 283, which legalizes discrimination by business owners who “disagree” with a customer because, shucks, that’s just what they believe.

“Many Coloradans believe that a business has the fundamental right to decline to contract to provide goods or services…when providing such goods or services conveys a message that the business would rather not be associated with, chooses not to associate itself with, or with which the business owner disagrees,” the preamble to the bill says.

This is where any one of these lawmakers, too many from worrisome parts north and south of here, say with a straight face that if God had wanted men to marry men, He wouldn’t have created his and her towel sets.

If you believe just like they do, and two guys in love want you to bake them a wedding cake, or rent them a hotel room, or sell them water at a convenience store, you can tell them, “we don’t serve your kind here,” and be proud of it.

Lundberg and SB 283 has your back so you can legally work a shiv of hatred into that of the Asian, Jew, immigrant, gun-grabber or union teacher of your choice. There are no limits with this thing.

You see, if SB 283 were to pass, any business owner would be shielded from equal opportunity and discrimination laws simply by saying that they would “rather not” be associated with the customer with heavy Mexican accent and “No Ban No Wall” t-shirt. You can just say “no” to the lesbian doctor because you disagree with what she believes.

As an alternative, and to cover all the bases, a business owner can also refuse to serve “their kind” by saying that they don’t agree with the event a product or service would be used for. Read: no professional wedding portraits of two dudes kissing or rental party tables for a north-Aurora quinceañera.

The bill is so vague that a bigoted business owner wouldn’t even have to tell the judge that he couldn’t print the wedding invitations for Bill and Bob because, “Jesus tells me so.” The proprietor would only have to say he doesn’t “agree” with their kind.

I’m not exaggerating here, just detailing how this would really work if this malevolent measure were to make it into law.

There’s no doubt Lundberg and Co. would spell it out differently. They’ll say that it just can’t be against the law for a nice, polite homophobe in a flower shop to discreetly tell “those people” that a deep faith in the Bible must prevail over the second-class citizenry of homosexuals or those who face eternity in hell for not having accepted their savior, who tells them they’re on the right track.

These six lawmakers, and those who support this misguided endeavor, misunderstand the most important part of being an American. Equal means equal. They misunderstand how their chronic, shameless and flamboyant affront to gays, minorities and immigrants hurts. While so many of “those people” in Colorado bravely soldier on and past this flagrant bigotry, it hurts to be discounted for being someone or something that some just don’t “agree” with.

To see how ridiculous this bill is, just change out “gay” for Texan, left-hander, bi-racial couple, Mormon, carnivore, German, protestant or gambler. These lawmakers and their bill are wrong to think that their equality is more vital than that of others. But more important, they perpetuate the pathetic and demeaning myth that there’s something wrong with gays, Mexicans, immigrants or some other kind of “those people” that ignorant or misguided proprietors “disagree” with.

This is America. There’s certainly no law against being stupid. There are, however, laws against bigotry and discrimination, and SB 283 is why we need to keep them in place.

Follow @EditorDavePerry on Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasentinel.com