Floral bouquets – Photo: Ms angie gray, via Wikimedia.
On Thursday, the Washington State Supreme Court reaffirmed a lower court decision finding that a florist cannot cite her religious beliefs as justification for refusing to serve same-sex couples under Washington State’s nondiscrimination law.
In a unanimous decision, the nine Washington Supreme Court justices ruled that Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers, Inc., in Richland, Wash., had violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination when she refused to provide flowers for the wedding of Curt Freed and Robert Ingersoll because they are in a same-sex relationship.
Stutzman had argued that her First Amendment rights were being violated if she was forced to participate in a wedding to which she morally objects by providing flowers for the occasion. But Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud wrote in the opinion that enforcing the WLAD did not violate Stutzman’s constitutional rights.
“Discrimination based on same-sex marriage constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” McCloud wrote in the opinion. “We therefore hold that the conduct for which Stutzman was cited and fined in this case — refusing her commercially marketed wedding floral services to Ingersoll and Freed because theirs would be a same-sex wedding — constitutes sexual orientation discrimination under the WLAD.
“As applied in this case, the WLAD does not compel speech or association. And assuming that it substantially burdens Stutzman’s religious free exercise, the WLAD does not violate her right to religious free exercise under either the First Amendment or article I, section 11 because it is a neutral, generally applicable law that serves our state government’s compelling interest in eradicating discrimination in public accommodations.”
The decision marks the second such defeat for Stutzman, who also lost in Benton County Superior Court in February 2015. According to the Tri-City Herald, Stutzman plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask them to reverse the ruling.
“Religious freedom is a fundamental part of America, said Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT Project, which is representing Freed and Ingersoll. “But religious beliefs do not give any of us a right to ignore the law or to harm others because of who they are. When people experience acts of discrimination, they feel that they are not full and equal members of our society, and we’re delighted that the Washington Supreme Court has recognized this.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief defending Freed and Ingersoll, also declared victory. In its brief, Americans United had noted that the argument advanced by Stutzman’s lawyers, if accepted, could have gutted the WLAD and allowed businesses to discriminate by denying services for virtually any reason. As a result, there would be no consistency to the law, and thus, “gay men, lesbians, and members of other protected classes (and their children) would not know which businesses they could patronize and could not expect the law to protect their rights of access to public accommodations.”
“Supporters of Arlene’s Flowers say they want religious freedom, but what they really seek is the right to use their religion to humiliate others and treat them like second-class citizens,” Rev. Barry Lynn, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “That’s not religious freedom; it’s just plan, old-fashioned bigotry. The Washington Supreme Court was right to shut it down.”
A federal judge has ordered St. George, Utah, to pay a group of drag performers more than $350,000 in attorneys' fees after previously ruling in the troupe's favor in a First Amendment case.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer ordered the city to cover the legal costs accrued by Southern Utah Drag Stars over a three-year legal battle, finding it is bound by the terms of a 2025 settlement.
Southern Utah Drag Stars initially planned to stage a drag show at a private venue, but it was canceled after the owner received threats against employees' safety, according to St. George News. The group then applied for a permit to hold the show in a public park in April 2023.
The Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court order blocking the state from enforcing policies that prevent transgender people from obtaining identity documents that reflect their gender identity.
In 2021, Montana lawmakers passed a law restricting transgender people from obtaining birth certificates that reflect their gender identity unless they provide a court order showing they have undergone gender confirmation surgery. Two transgender people challenged the law, and a district judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking its enforcement.
An 18-year-old British woman says she was asked to leave a popular gay nightclub in Manchester after staff deemed her wheelchair a "safety risk."
Maddie Haining, of Oldham, told the BBC she was out with a friend on April 11 and had visited several bars before heading to Club Tropicana on Canal Street in Manchester's Gay Village. Within five minutes of entering, she says a bar manager asked her to leave.
In a video recorded by her friend and later posted to Instagram, Haining is seen speaking with the manager, whose face is blurred. She says she showed him the United Kingdom's 2010 Equality Act -- which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities -- and told him that asking her to leave was discriminatory.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.