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.”
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Alabama hotel employee who was fired after his bosses learned he was gay and saw him dressed in a style that they felt was "feminine."
According to the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the employee, referred to as "D.A." in charging documents, was working as a night auditor at the Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Dothan, Alabama.
D.A., who identifies as gay and nonbinary but was assigned male at birth, initially wore clothing and dressed in a manner consistent with traditional male stereotypes when he was first hired.
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario awarded an Indigenous transgender woman $35,000 in legal damages after a waxing salon denied her service.
In addition to the damages, an undisclosed amount in interest will be paid, caculated from the start of the case on March 17, 2018. More interest may be incurred if the owner of the salon fails to pay within 30 days.
The decision comes after a six-year legal battle between the woman, A.B., and Mad Wax Salon in Windsor, Ontario. A.B. called the salon to book an appointment for a leg wax but was refused because the only available staff member, a Muslim woman, refused to wax people assigned male at birth, citing religious beliefs.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case involving the question of whether states can enforce laws prohibiting transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming treatments, such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
On Monday, June 24, the high court granted certiorari in the case of LW v. Skrmetti, a lawsuit challenging the state of Tennessee's ban.
The lawsuit was signed into law by Republican Governor Bill Lee in March 2023.
It claims the ban:
Violates transgender teens' right to equal protection under the law.
Violates the right of their parents to make decisions regarding the care, custody, and control of their children.
Runs afoul of a section of the Affordable Care Act that prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
A federal judge initially blocked the law from taking effect, but Tennessee appealed the ruling and asked that it be reversed.
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