Posted on 12/09/2014 7:12:33 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A lawsuit is moving forward against a Washington State florist who refused to supply floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding ceremony based on her religious objection, which could put her at risk of serious financial loss and the loss of her business.
Baronelle Stutzman, who owns and operates Arlene's Flowers in Richland, Washington, is being sued by the Washington State attorney general's office for refusing to supply flowers for a same-sex couple's wedding ceremony. Instead, she referred the couple to another nearby florist who could supply flowers for their wedding.
The attorney general's office filed its lawsuit against Stutzman in 2013, and after the judge who was presiding over the case joined the federal bench, another judge has been appointed to the case and began hearing arguments on the case last week. Judge Alex Ekstrom is expected to set the start of the trial for sometime in the Spring.
The attorney general's office is not just suing Stutzman, it's also suing her business, a statement from the Alliance Defending Freedom indicates.
Stutzman is being defended by ADF, which is an advocacy group defending the freedom of religion. Since Stutzman is being sued personally and her business is also being sued, the ADF statement says the lawsuit has put Stutzman at serious risk to lose the business as well as her personal assets.
Although Stutzman has supplied flowers to gay couples in the past, when Robert Ingersoll came to ask for her to supply the floral arrangements for his wedding ceremony, where he would marry his partner Curt Freed, Stutzman felt obligated to turn them down.
Stutzman, who has been a florist for over 40 years, based her reasoning off of her deeply held religious belief that marriage should only be between one man and one woman.
Washington law states that no business can discriminate against a customer based on his or her sexual orientation. However, ADF senior counsel Kristen Waggoner, the lawyer assigned to Stutzman's case, holds that since there are a number of other florists willing to provide flowers for same-sex weddings, the state's prosecution seems like an attempt to get Stutzman to surrender her "livelihood and liberty."
"Plenty of florists are willing to provide flowers for same-sex ceremonies, yet the state attorney general insists on going after not only her business, but her personal assets as well," ADF senior counsel Kristen Waggoner said in a press release. "It's nothing more than a blatant attempt to strong arm Barronelle into surrendering her freedom and livelihood."
Refusing to provide services for same-sex wedding ceremonies has cost many private business owners their business, as well as a great deal of financial grief in recent years.
In August, a Christian family was fined $13,000 by the state of New York for refusing to host a same-sex wedding ceremony at their farmhouse wedding venue because they felt it violated their religious beliefs.
In November, a California couple who ran a wedding photography business, announced that they will no longer provide wedding photography service after gay activists protested against the business when a gay man posted to Facebook about how the couple declined to shoot his wedding ceremony because of their beliefs.
Much like Stutzman referred the gay couple to another florist, the California photography couple referred the gay man to another photographer. Still, that did not prevent a social backlash from spawning in the wake of their decision.
I remember the first case, a baker in Colorado I think, the DA or whatever that sued admitted that Gay Bakers who refused to sell to Christians would not get the same treatment.
When? And by whom?
Maybe in the next world, but not in this one.
From this point on, ANYONE having sympathy with Al Gayda is an enemy of the nation
Just like Hillary.
We're seeing the same thing in Washington D.C.
Talk, talk, and more talk... but NO ACTION.
One you got used to the fact that Washington State is run by reds, esp. in Seattle, then all the persecution and prosecution of Christians makes sense.
Oregon and California are right up there too.
It is no longer the Left Coast. It is now the RED COAST!
Or she could sign them up for Comcast.
if christians can’t live their faith and will be actively legally persecuted by govt, we will have to go rwii. libtards pushing this know this. somehow they think they’re going to win.
if they continue this they need removal b/c we have freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, and freedom of association. if they refuse to ignore it they have nullified themselves in defending these rights of the people.
Didn’t happen - The news did not report it!
Yup. Believe the lie or die.
Besides, citing "religious beliefs" frames the argument in a way that the enemy can conveniently use to pounce and destroy. "Religions" are subjective believe systems that can be very free and loose with the truth. Easy to attack religious beliefs as bigoted and hateful constructs.
The persecuted need to start with the right premise.
Natural order - the basic biological reality inherent in human nature - is simply REALITY. There's no "religious" argument in stating obvious truths. Truth is its own defense. The bullying is no different than government demanding that we call a dog a cat or a apple an orange, or else..
These "marriages" are fake constructs dependent upon the *government* definition of truth. We see how well *that* works, as beast.gov gets more freakish and delusional by the minute.
The mark is the abject rebellion of God's truth and by close extension the rejection of His created order of the universe. Those who think they can redefine truth have put themselves in the place of God.
Reality is under attack, but too many think they can will it away by force of forced consensus.
No wonder the modern culture can be described as an Obamanation of desolation, standing where it ought not— in place of the truth. (The Holy Temple was the repository of the God's Law, after all).
Very few here in Richland, maybe the 15% Daily Kos crowd and queers, agree with the state’s persecution of Mrs. Stutzman.
15% of Leftists (not necessarily homosexuals) is enough to poison the water of common sense, patriotism, religion and the educational system.
Washington law states that no business can discriminate against a customer based on his or her sexual orientation.
Hmm. The homosexuals wanted her to be supply items to their wedding that is not refusing to sell items to them personally. So if they came in to her store wanting flowers she would have sold them I bet but these gays wanted her to go to their wedding venue and set up flowers for it which she said no too.
Well, you’re always going to have at least that small fraction of homosexuals, atheists, secularists and deviants anywhere, anytime.
The schools here are still pretty good (not perfect).
There is no telling what they would do to your food.
Man Arrested For Sprinkling Fecal Matter On Pastries
"A Dallas cab driver is in big trouble for getting caught on tape sprinkling dried feces on pastries.
49-year-old Behrouz Nahidmobarekeh is on trial for allegedly throwing fecal matter on pastries at a Fiesta grocery store.
Police said they found a pile of human feces by his bed.
He would dry it, either by microwave or just letting it sit out and grate it up with a cheese grater and then sprinkle it at the store, officials said.
Neither attorneys in the case is clear about a motive or why the defendant would resort to something so repulsive.
Prosecutors will show a surveillance videotape of the defendant, which shows him sprinkling a substance on the food.
The FBI arrested Nahidmobarekeh but turned the case over to local prosecutors after they determined it was not a national security issue."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_accommodations
It is hard to believe that more states will add such laws, after all the publicity of the abuse of Christian business owners.
Yes, you understand what this actually is part of.
And still everyone is looking for a bar code or implant when the truth of how it is going to be mandated is being illustrated right in front of our eyes.
Is there any kind of fund being set up for this woman?
All thes gaystapo thugs who celebrate this vengence against people who refuse to supply gay marriage ceremonies beware. Some day a more equal victim class will be knocking on your doors for business. When Ahmed from Solomalia demands Jenner’s gay bakery bake a cake for Ahmed’s wedding to his 5 year old bride you’re gonna get shut down too.
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