Posted on 03/31/2015 7:51:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A Christian florist and grandmother who declined to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding because of her Christian belief in traditional marriage has been fined $1,001 by a Washington court and will be held liable to pay the legal fees incurred by the gay couple, which could "devastate" her financially.
As previously reported by The Christian Post, 70-year-old Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene's Flowers in Richland, Washington, was found guilty of violating the state's non-discrimination law in February, after referring Rob Ingersoll and Curt Feed to another florist when they asked her to provide the floral arrangements for their wedding.
Although Stutzman sold flowers to Ingersoll for nearly a decade and maintained a positive relationship with him, when he asked her to provide flowers for his same-sex wedding, she felt she could not act against her Christian conviction to serve her friend.
Afterwards, Ingersoll took to social media to voice his displeasure with Stutzman, which drew the attention of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who eventually filed charges against Stutzman, after she refused to comply with his demands that her shop serve gay weddings.
While Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom's Friday summary judgement orders Stutzman to pay a fine of $1,001, for now, and forces her to provide services for same-sex weddings, her lawyer, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Kristen Waggoner, said that Stutzman is still at risk of losing her retirement savings and business as she will be responsible for paying the legal fees and damages incurred by Ingersoll and Freed, who were represented by the ACLU.
The court will hold off on making a decision on how much Stutzman will have to pay in legal costs and fees until after a ruling has been made on an appeal. ADF has indicated that an appeal will be filed. Additionally, the ruling will force Arlene's Flowers to uphold the state's non-discrimination law and serve gay weddings.
"Today's judgement affirms the court's earlier decision that Barronelle must pay a penalty for her faith and surrender her freedom and conscience," Waggoner said in a statement. "The penalty and fees imposed today are only the first punch. The ACLU, on behalf of the same-sex couple also suing Barronelle, has asked the court to award them penalties, fees, and costs, which will financially devastate this 70-year-old grandmother's retirement and personal savings. The message sent by the attorney general and the ACLU to the people of Washington is quite clear: surrender your religious liberty and free speech rights, or face personal and professional ruin."
Even though Stutzman faces the possibility of personal and professional ruin, she had the "option" to escape from her legal crisis if she had agreed to accept Ferguson's settlement offer, the day after she was found guilty in court, which was to pay a fine of $2,001 and agree to provide her services for gay weddings. Stutzman, however, felt she could not turn her back on Jesus in order to save herself or her business.
"Washington's constitution guarantees us 'freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment.' I cannot sell that precious freedom," Stutzman wrote in a responding letter to the attorney general's settlement offer. "You are asking me to walk in in the way of a well-known betrayer, one who sold something of infinite worth for 30 pieces of silver. That is something I will not do."
"Your offer reveals that you don't really understand me or what this conflict is about. It's about freedom, not money," Stutzman continued. "I certainly don't relish the idea of losing my business, my home, and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my freedom to honor God in doing what I do best is more important."
Attached to Eckstrom's judgement was a handwritten note further asserting that businesses that offer wedding-based services cannot refuse to provide goods to same-sex weddings, no matter what their religious beliefs are.
"All goods, merchandise, and services offered or sold to opposite sex couples shall be offered or sold to same-sex couples, including but not limited to goods, merchandise and services for weddings and commitment ceremonies," Ekstrom's note stated.
***Out of all the florists in the Seattle area they couldn’t find one that is gay and will serves their own kind?***
10 to 1 the homos went out looking for someone who would NOT make them florist who would not supply flowers, just like homos who went out looking for a bakery which would not make them a cake.
I hope the next administration puts executive orders on the many grants that states and cities get... that prohibits religious discrimination... and that the next DOJ opens up civils rights investigations into places that did these types of shakedowns.
IMAGINE an Asymmetrical response directed at the two queers. A price exacted from them. Done in a way that they will never know. Imagine them wondering why/how THEIR lives are being turned upside down.
Where is all that compassion, diversity, and tolerance the left always preaches? Oh, its only for those who agree with them?
The problem here is not religious freedom. The precedent is in anti-discrimination laws... Used to be that a notice on the wall was enough: “This business retains the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.”
Just gonna say same thing. Who wouldn’t throw 5 bucks at a go fund me site for this woman and her business. Screw the pink brigade.
“He asked him THIS THREE Times and Pence refused to answer all three times instead claiming that the bill really doesn’t change anything and it was all ‘misinformation’ .”
I am so sick of political cowards, that I could scream!
RE: “This business retains the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.”
I think the Civil Rights Act made that notice a moot point.
“There must be some anti gay people out there to do a little florist shopping.”
The problem is that the reverse of the situation is not analogous, because the left has defined being gay as a “civil rights” issue, while being opposed to homosexuality is just a belief. So if someone doesn’t make you an anti-gay cake or floral arrangement, they are simply rejecting your beliefs, and not discriminating against a class of people protected under the civil rights laws.
It’s insane how everything has been turned upside down.
Objective Morality is their enemy.
Mike Pence has just basically said, “gee, I sure am sorry to hear that.”
As I said, therein lies the problem.
Yes indeed, go to the gay-run flower shop, order some flowers to be delivered to this lady, have them write on the card,
"Thank you for standing up for historic traditional Christian values in the face of persecution from the gay community."
When the shop owner says "oh, I won't write that," correct him,…. "Oh yes you will…"
Perversion trumps Christian beliefs. I don’t know why the federal law signed by Clinton doesn’t cover this.
Its hatred , pure and simple.. on the parts of the Gays.
Have we as a nation sold our soul just so a few can be treated like normal folk even as they act like the self-absorbed idiots they are and destroy others over a cake or flowers?
Sad. I thought Washington might have a clue. Apparently not, where Seattle says who care if businesses close and move over mininum wage distortions now enacted.
What’s next, is the State of Washington going to make her provide Flowers for the NAMBLA Convention and the Nazi Parade Float?
This lady has a backbone.
People need to realize that the only way to fight these fascists is to forcefully hold them to their own idiot ideas.
If the Republicans had any guts they would have been fighting fire with fire all along. You can’t ever knuckle under.
RE: is the State of Washington going to make her provide Flowers for the NAMBLA Convention and the Nazi Parade Float?
Well, if they request her to, I don’t see how they can enforce the law inconsistently...
But has anyone OPENLY declared himself a member of NAMBLA or the Nazi Party these days?
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