The following comes from a March 23 LifeSiteNews article by Steve Weatherbe:

World-famous boxer Manny Pacquiao has been banned from a trendy L.A. mall because of his biblical comments on same-sex “marriage.” But at least one legal expert says it’s hypocritical to force Christian bakers to make cakes for homosexuals and then ban Christians from public places because their opinion is unpopular.

“Manny Pacquiao is no longer welcome,” Grove owner Rick Caruso told TMZ. “These are statements of hatred. A lot of people from the gay community come to the Grove and they have a right not to feel uncomfortable.”

Pacquiao, a world champion in eight weight classes and a two-term member of the Philippines Congress who is seeking a Senate seat in the May elections, was approached a month ago for his views on same-sex “marriage” by a Filipino TV reporter while he was training for his April 9 non-title match against American welterweight Tim Bradley in Las Vegas.

“It’s common sense,” the boxer responded. “Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals.”

Pacquiao soon apologized for offending LGBT individuals but held his ground on the issue of same-sex “marriage.” “I still stand on my belief that I’m against same-sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord,” he said in a video.

But he then followed up on his Facebook page by citing the passage in Leviticus that states, “If a man has sexual relations with a man … [he is] to be put to death.”

Nike, the sporting goods giant, withdrew its sponsorship of Pacquiao, and celebrities in the Philippines and the U.S. attacked him, including the fight’s promoter, Bob Arum.

The furore died down until Pacquiao moved his camp to Los Angeles. This time, promoter Arum stood by him, declaring that Pacquiao is “entitled to say he was against same-sex marriages. That is his religious belief and, while people may disagree with it, he is entitled to say it.”

Caruso, a developer and philanthropist who was raised Catholic and recently donated $7.5 million to build a new Catholic church on the campus of the University of South California, apparently disagrees. After Pacquiao took a break from training and took in a movie at the Grove along with his sizeable entourage, Caruso issued his disinvitation.

“Two areas of law are colliding here,” John Mauck of the firm Mauck & Baker told LifeSiteNews. The traditional right of a property owner to choose with whom he does business is being eroded by the right of the minorities to use public facilities along with the majority.

“This area of law was developed to ensure African-Americans could not be discriminated against by restaurants and hotels,” said Mauck. “If you are open to the public, you have got to be open to all […] There’s really a bit of hypocrisy here. If Christians can’t refuse to serve gays, then he shouldn’t be able to refuse to serve Christians.”