Posted on 02/23/2015 7:38:22 AM PST by wagglebee
RICHLAND, WA, February 20, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Washington State Superior Court judge ruled this week that politicians have the power to restrict religious actions and expression.
Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom ruled that while the religious beliefs of florist Barronelle Stutzman related to marriage is protected by the U.S. Constitution, living her life in accordance with her faith is not.
Stutzman is the owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington. A business owner for nearly 40 years, she was sued twice for allegedly violating the state's "Consumer Protection Act," because she refused to furnish flowers for a homosexual “marriage” service. The Act denies business owners religious liberty when it comes to sexual orientation, regardless of the owner's sincerely held beliefs.
In his decision, Ekstrom said that the 2006 law is constitutional. "For over 135 years, the Supreme Court of the United States has held that laws may prohibit religiously motivated action, as opposed to belief," he ruled.
He said that "in trade and commerce, and more particularly when seeking to prevent discrimination in public accommodations," legislatures are allowed "to prohibit conduct it deems discriminatory." Ekstrom ruled that this applies "even where the motivation for that conduct is grounded in religious belief."
The case goes back nearly two years ago, when Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed asked Stutzman to provide flower arrangements for their "marriage." Stutzman, who had an existing professional relationship with Ingersoll, said in a deposition that “I just put my hands on his and told him because of my relationship with Jesus Christ I couldn’t do that, couldn’t do his wedding."
The former customers are seeking $7.91 in damages, to cover the cost of driving to another floral shop, and Stutzman faces up to $2,000 in fines plus the cost of legal fees because of charges filed by the state of Washington.
"Under the Consumer Protection Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against customers on the basis of sexual orientation,” state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said when he filed charges nearly two years ago. “If a business provides a product or service to opposite-sex couples for their weddings, then it must provide same-sex couples the same product or service.”
Stutzman, who is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, has said she will appeal Ekstrom's decision.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is backing Ingersoll and Freed, declined to comment to LifeSiteNews.
In a public statement, the legal director for the secularist advocacy group's state chapter said that "religious beliefs do not give any of us a right to ignore the law or to harm others because of who they are. When gay people go to a business, they should be treated like anyone else and not be discriminated against."
However, conservative blogger Erick Erickson decried the decision, telling LifeSiteNews that "the judge should have allowed free expression of religion by allowing the florist to opt out, particularly since it was well established she would otherwise serve gay customers."
Erickson, who compared extreme gay rights activists to Islamic extremists in a post about Stutzman's case, also said that "states should allow Christians to opt out of having to provide goods and services to gay weddings."
If you are compelled to agree to bake that cake by big government liberals using the force of the state to compel obedience, then you agree to bake the cake (that agreement is one of the very small things in the realm of the things that are Caesar's). If you believe baking the cake and then decorating it in a manner that celebrates gay "marriage" is an offense against God, then you agree in a manner that will never end up with a cake (active participation in celebrating an offense agaisnt God is in the real of the things that are God's). Price the cake so high that the customer will go elsewhere - twenty times your usual rate, or more. Put a clause in the contract that there is no penalty for non-performance other than a refund of the price paid, and then cancel at the last minute and suggest a WalMart sheet cake as an emergency substitute.
I would not participate in celebrating a gay "marriage", and I would not blame someone who evaded the demand to endorse this mockery of marriage rather than face legal persecution. We are not dealing with decent people who deserve consideration. We are dealing with evil thugs who are comfortable using force to compel obedience. The only thing we owe them is what they can compel from us, and that isn't much once we recognize the scale of evil that we are facing.
Note: I am not calling the homosexual orientation itself evil - those possibly congenital desires have existed in a small minority throughout history. I'm referring to those who use force to compel others to violate deeply held religious beliefs. This judge and the plaintiffs are shockingly and disgustingly evil.
When I worked up in Boston I came across nearly everyone claiming they were Catholic and yet all voted for abortion, homosexuality etc.
When I pointed all this out they would just shrug their shoulders and go into a mood or tell me they have voted Dem all their lives and they will be .
To distill it further:
Christianity is unconstitutional.
“He said that “in trade and commerce, and more particularly when seeking to prevent discrimination in public accommodations,” legislatures are allowed “to prohibit conduct it deems discriminatory.”
Ahhh, “public accomodations” brought to you by the war on tobacco. To the FReepers that celebrated the smoking bans, well now you get to reap the just rewards won in your victories!
“To the FReepers that celebrated the smoking bans, well now you get to reap the just rewards won in your victories!”
I think I recall you stating several years ago that this would happen.
The “land of the free” is becoming the U.S.S.R. redux.
.
Yep, but I have to admit that I learned it from some of my fellow FReepers. However, you and I participated in many discussions about this future, and the “convenient conservatives” denied this would happen. I hope that they enjoy their “Brave New World.”
It’s apparent that these guys are actors or this guy would be dead.... I went on to watch a few more of his vids...some pretty funny stuff.
So as long as you leave your beliefs at the church door, you are okay?
This is not about equal rights. It is about special right for a minority of people who perform certain, unholy sexual behaviors with one another. The KKK has no special rights.
This judge needs to be impeached but I doubt the Washington state AG will do anything.
Feathers
Rope
Is it time yet, Claire...?
>>stripping away the magnificent work of the founding fathers.
“I KNOW BUT ONE CODE OF MORALITY FOR MEN WHETHER ACTING SINGLY OR COLLECTIVELY”
—Thomas Jefferson
Does water still freeze at 32 degrees F?
>>coming to a head.
Again.
It’s the same consequential natural cycle that’s described in Romans 1:25+
The whole purpose of a “Justice” System is to promote “public Virtue”-—(Montesquieu/Cicero/Founders). For Freedom can not exist with immoral people-—people who use other human beings as a “Means to an End”.
The most perfect ethical system, the one the USA used, is based on Natural Moral Law which includes God’s Laws (Christian Ethics) and it created the most perfect civilizations possible in the history of man. The most free and diverse, creative and powerful.
Individual Natural Rights from God is antithetical to all collectivist, socialist cultures. You can not deny one single person (even unborn) their Natural Rights from God——but the Cultural Marxists and Fabian Socialists devised “Progressivism” to destroy Virtue formation in the masses, to create a godless, collectivist, socialist culture, so individuals have no Individual Natural Rights-—only Rights and permission from the State (and their Masters)/elites/sodomites) for every aspect of life.
All promotion of Socialism is unconstitutional and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. knew he was destroying our Constitution with unjust (unconstitutional always) law. Justice John Marshall—who is the father of jurisprudence, stated that there can be no rule or regulations which are antithetical to the Supreme Law of the Land. None. They are naturally “null and void” and shouldn’t be obeyed by anyone (as Nuremberg Trials reiterated).
Our evil Supreme Justices enshrine Stalin’s Constitution-—and kick out ours.....with Common Core and obamacare and sodomy “laws” LOL—the Marxist total control of all minds of our children with the promotion of lies and irrational vile behaviors, will develop evil irrational people.
Just Law can never promote Vice and evil or socialism which destroys Individual Natural Rights from God which are unalienable!!!!!
Great book for anyone to read on Socialism is written by a scientist from the Soviet Union with the foreward by A. Solzhenitsyn. Even a little bit of Socialism rots the Soul of people and he explains why Socialism is antithetical to individualism and freedom always (Our Constitution). It is “The Socialist Phenomenon” by Igor Shafarvich.
They now teach little children it is evil to discriminate (which is a lie). Discrimination is essential to all of life. “Toleration” is promoted in schools to destroy Virtue formation in children and make them into “good Germans”—so they will look the other way when evil is done to others.
Our children, since the multiculturalism (moral relativism/lies) and ‘diversity” has been forced on them in the 70s, can no longer be critical thinkers because they are ignorant of Truth/God and all our Traditions and Great Books (ideology which formed Locke and Adam Smithe, etc). They are dumb, ignorant emotional addicts of materialism. They were “conditioned” with lies and misinformation since Sesame street and trying to normalize evil and socialism (group think”.
Cicero stated that Wisdom is discerning between Good and Evil.
Our kids grow up to be so dumb they embrace all sorts of evil, dysfunctional behaviors. Look how 50 Shades is embraced by our young. They are so brainwashed they believe Good is Evil and Evil is Good and by the time they realize they were lied to and deceived by the sodomites in Hollywood and the atheist Ba’al worshippers who control Common Core (NCLB), they will have wasted the most productive years of their lives, be addicts, and have destroyed all their important relationships so they are dependent on the State for everything.
Fichte devised a Prussian System of brainwashing in 1810 to destroy Free Will in children, make them believe “Snow is Black” and be unable to be critical thinkers——have minds like Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, and Adam Smith. They will have minds like tribal people-—only “happy slaves” of the elites/the State.
Get your children and grandchildren OUT of public schools and control the ideas that they are fed. It will shape their worldview-—and you don’t want the evil John Maynard Keynsian minds of Fabian Socialists which is what Common Core creates.
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