Stutzman Countersues Washington Over Religious Discrimination

 

The owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, who refused a longtime customer’s request to provide flowers for his same-sex wedding, has launched a counter suit against state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who sued her for violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.

The counter suit, filed by an anti-gay-"marriage" group called Alliance Defending Freedom, argues that Ferguson’s suit is attempting to force Barronelle Stutzman to act contrary to her religious convictions in violation of her freedoms under the state constitution.

“In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions.  Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel with the Arizona-based group.

Ferguson repeated his rationale for initially filing the suit.

“It’s the Attorney General’s job to enforce consumer protection laws which prohibit discrimination in the marketplace,” said the AG.  “If Ms. Stutzman sells flowers to heterosexual couples, she must sell them to same sex couples.  As an individual, she is free to hold religious beliefs but as a business owner, she may not violate our state’s laws against discrimination — no matter what she personally believes.”

The dispute between Stutzman and customer Robert Ingersoll has become the stuff of litigation and legislation.  Early this year, after Washington legalized same-sex "marriage", Ingersoll went to Stutzman and asked her shop to serve his wedding.  She declined, in Stutzman’s words, “because of my relationship with JC.”

The Attorney General has sued Stutzman.  Ingersoll and partner Curt Freed, with the American Civil Liberties Union acting as council, have announced that they will sue Stutzman.

 Thirteen Republicans in the state Senate have introduced "broadly" worded legislation to allow businesses to "discriminate" against gay and lesbian customers.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, would exempt from the state’s anti-discrimination laws businesses that deny goods or services to gay customers because of “sincerely held religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs or matters of conscience.”

The Senate bill is directed squarely at the LGBT community.  Federal law prohibits discrimination based on race, religion or physical disability.  Its sponsors include Republican lawmakers from Eastern and Southwest Washington, but only one Puget Sound-area legislator, Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, in its counter suit against Ferguson, cites Section 11 of the state constitution, which protects “freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship” and guarantees that “no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion.”

The litigation, filed in Benton County Superior Court, argues that Stutzman had a problem “promoting” the same-sex ceremony, not with serving customers who identify as gay or lesbian.  It notes that Stutzman “has been creating floral arrangements for Robert Ingersoll for nearly nine years.”

Anne Levinson, a former judge and Seattle deputy mayor, responded to the suit by arguing:  “Ms. Stuzman, like any other business person, is entitled to her own beliefs, but that does not give her the right to pick and choose whom she will serve based on those beliefs.  The Constitution protects the freedom to worship as one chooses, not the freedom to use religious beliefs to justify denying service.”

Levinson cited another case with origins in Oklahoma.

“In a federal lawsuit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, a police captain is arguing that he too has a religious right not to serve certain members of the public because they do not share his faith.  The Islamic Society of Tulsa held a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in 2011 to thank local police for protecting their center after it received threats during the previous year.
 “The police captain claimed that attending or sending officers to the event would violate his religious beliefs, which require him to proselytize anyone who does not share his Christian faith.  So one can readily see that this argument that religious beliefs should allow for discrimination in business and in the public square is not just about flowers.”

Washington, Maine and Maryland, in last November’s election, became the seventh, eighth and ninth states to approve same gender "marriage".  The same-sex "marriage" legislation, Referendum 74, passed with a big margin in Puget Sound population centers but lost heavily in the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco and Kennewick).

Legislatures in Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota have, this year, brought to 12 states (and the District of Columbia) those in which couples of the same gender can wed. Gay and lesbian weddings in Washington began last December.
(seattlepi.com)

Washington State Republicans Sponsor Bill To Protect Religious Liberties From Gay Terrorists

Florist Shop That Gay Terrorists are Suing

read the bill

opening section of the bill

The legislature finds that the United States Constitution is the supreme law of our nation, and this body has full confidence in its ability to endure all tests. Many immigrants came to our nation to escape government-sanctioned persecution of their faith. This body believes that any law which is designed to restrict the liberty of one faith tradition erodes the founding principle of religious liberty and that it is, as James Madison wrote in 1785, proper to "take alarm" at any such "experiment on our liberties." Our state has a history of embracing an individual's right to practice the faith tradition of his or her choice within the law and free of government interference. The legislature also finds that a multiplicity of religious beliefs, traditions, and heritages bring strength to our state. This body believes that it is not the role of the legislature of Washington state to disparage or marginalize any religious tradition. This body finds abhorrent all forms of discrimination, including those forms of discrimination targeting religion or belief. Our state benefits from a number of individuals and institutions whose faith motivates them to provide food to the hungry, shelter to the needy, inexpensive or free health services, and other humanitarian services. Religious leaders who facilitate conflict resolution often achieve results that ease the burdens on our courts.

new section of the Washington state law
4) Nothing in this section may burden a person or religious organization's freedom of religion including, but not limited to, the right of an individual or entity to deny services if providing those goods or services would be contrary to the individual's or entity owner's sincerely held religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, ormatters of conscience. This subsection does not apply to the denial of services to individuals recognized as a protected class under federal law applicable to the state as of the effective date of this section. The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, philosophical belief, or matter of conscience may not be burdened unless the government proves that it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that  interest.




OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Several Republican lawmakers filed a bill Thursday seeking an exemption to the state's anti-discrimination laws just weeks after legal action was taken against a Richland florist who denied service to a gay couple for their upcoming wedding.

The bill introduced by Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, would allow businesses the right to deny services or goods if they felt doing so was contrary to their "sincerely held religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, or matters of conscience."

The measure would not apply to the denial of services to people under a protected class under federal law, such as race, religion or disability.

Brown said the measure seeks to protect people or religious organizations from legal persecution. "There's a glaring lack of protection for religion in state law," she said.

Also signing on to the bill were Sens. Janea Holmquist Newbry, Mike Hewitt, Jim Honeyford, Don Benton, Barbara Bailey, Mike Padden, John Braun, John Smith, Ann Rivers, and Linda Evans Parlette.

The bill has not yet been referred to a committee or scheduled for a public hearing, and is not likely to before the regular legislative session ends on Sunday. However, if a special session is called, as expected, the bill could be heard during that time.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state filed a lawsuit in response to a March 1 incident in which Barronelle Stutzman refused to provide flowers for Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed's wedding, despite the two men being longtime patrons of her shop — Arlene's Flowers and Gifts in Richland, which is in Brown's legislative district. Previously, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit in the case.

Ferguson had sent a letter in March asking her to comply with the law, but said Stutzman's attorneys responded saying she would challenge any state action to enforce the law.

Her attorney, Justin D. Bristol, has said he expects to take the legal battle to federal court and argue Stutzman's refusal of service based on the 1st Amendment's right to free speech.

While Washington voters legalized gay marriage in November, protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation were codified in 2006, in one of the first initial pushes to expand civil rights to the gay community in the state.

Under state law, it's illegal for businesses to refuse to sell goods, merchandise and services to any person because of their sexual orientation.

Josh Friedes, a spokesman for Equal Rights Washington, said that the bill seeks to undermine the state's anti-discrimination laws "and it undermines our entire approach to ensuring the equality of all Washingtonians in commerce."
"It is discrimination, pure and simple," he said.

Brown argued that the bill is not intended to undermine the law or the rights of gays and lesbians in the state and isn't a commentary on same-sex marriage.
"The citizens of the state clearly weighed in on that issue," she said. "It's intended to protect religious freedoms."

Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who sponsored the civil rights expansion bill in 2006 as well as the state's gay marriage law, said the proposal seeks to revisit long settled civil rights legislation, arguing that the nation has long moved beyond that discussion.
"I don't think we want to go into our civil rights laws and decide who gets served and who doesn't get served," he said.

Joseph Backholm, executive director of the Family Policy Institute of Washington, said that while he knows the bill is not likely to gain any traction in the Legislature this year, he hopes it sparks a discussion.
"The government is now saying if you have a conviction about an issue that we happen to disagree with, then you as a business owner are going to be fined or shut down because of that," he said. "People should and do have the right to their own convictions."
(AP)

This is what a liberal senator from Washington State thinks of your religious liberty!
“I haven’t seen a law this backwards and mean-spirited since before the civil rights victories of the 1960s,” said Sen, Jeanne Kohl-Welles in an email blast.

ACLU Sues A Religious Florist Who Refused To Supply Flowers For A Gay "Wedding"

Gay Terrorists Strike Again: This time the ACLU

As We Previously Reported A Religious Florist Who Refused To Supply Flowers For A Gay "Wedding"
Was Sued by Washington State.  Now The ACLU of Washington decided to join in the fight to destroy Freedom of Religon.

(Reuters) - A Washington state florist who refused to sell flowers to a gay couple for their wedding has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, in the second legal action accusing the vendor of discrimination.  Florist Barronelle Stutzman already faced a consumer protection lawsuit over the incident filed against her last week by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. She maintained her Christian beliefs prevented her from selling the flowers for the same-sex wedding, according to court papers.
The plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit filed on Thursday are Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, who are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state.  The couple were longtime customers of Stutzman's southeast Washington state business, Arlene's Flowers, in Richland, their lawsuit said.

 

 

The legal battle follows a move by Washington state voters in November to allow gay "marriage", but the ACLU's lawsuit is not based on the legality of same-sex "marriage" in the state.  Instead, it centers on the state's law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, said Doug Honig, spokesman for the ACLU of Washington state.   "Everybody is entitled to their own private religious beliefs and the ACLU respects that strongly," Honig said.   "But a business open to the public cannot use religion as a reason to justify discriminating," he said.

When Ingersoll entered Stutzman's store in March to buy flowers for his upcoming wedding to Freed, Stutzman told him she could not serve him "because of (her) relationship with JC," according to the lawsuit filed last week by the attorney general.

Stutzman's attorney, Justin Bristol, said forcing his client to sell flowers for a gay wedding violated her constitutional rights of freedom of speech, association and religious exercise.

"She is one of the few people left today willing to stand by her convictions rather than compromise her beliefs," Bristol said. "She's a very nice lady and doesn't have a discriminatory bone in her body, but she doesn't want to be forced to participate in an event that she doesn't believe in."

The ACLU lawsuit, unlike the legal action from the attorney general's office, lists Freed and Ingersoll as plaintiffs and seeks damages on their behalf. The attorney general's office seeks fines against the business, but no damages for the two men.

Washington is one of nine states along with the District of Columbia that allow same-sex "marriage".
 _________________________________________________________________________

Click to read the text of the ACLU's law suit to destroy the first amendment and religion here

Washington State Sues A Religious Florist Who Refused To Supply Flowers For A Gay "Wedding"

Attorney General Bob Ferguson

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Tuesday filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Arlene’s Flowers & Gifts, a Richland florist that refused to supply flowers to the same-sex "marriage" of a longtime customer.
Ferguson said he sent a March 28 letter to owner Barronelle Stutzman asking her to reconsider and supply flowers to customer Robert Ingersoll.  Through an attorney, Stutzman declined to change her position.

“As Attorney General, it is my job to enforce the "laws" of the state of Washington,” said Ferguson.  “Under the Consumer Protection Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation.  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.”


The lawsuit by Ferguson is bound to revive a warning raised by opponents of same gender "marriage" in last fall’s Washington Voter’s Pamphlet statement against Referendum 74.  Foes stated:
“People who disagree with this new definition (of marriage) could find themselves facing sanctions, as has occurred elsewhere.  Church groups have lost their tax exemptions.  Small businesses were sued.  Wedding professionals have been fined.”

The supporters of same-sex "marriage", in their rebuttal, stated:  “Lawsuits haven’t increased in states with same-sex "marriage". Liberty and pursuit of happiness are core American values.”

An employee at Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts said late Tuesday that Stutzman was not present, adding:  “None of us will have any comment.”  Last month, Stutzman told KEPR-TV in the Tri-Cities:

“He (Ingersoll) said he decided to get married and before he got through I grabbed his hand and said, ‘I am sorry.  I can’t do your wedding because of my relationship with JC.’  We hugged each other and he left, and I assumed it was the end of the story.”

Stutzman said she believes “biblically” that marriage is between a man and a woman.  “I have hired all walks of people in different circumstances, and had the privilege of working with some very talented people that happen to be gay.”

Ingersoll and his partner, Curt Freed, were decade-long customers of Arlene’s Flowers & Gifts.  They went online with the refusal and the story went viral.  Stutzman refused to change her position, saying:  “It’s a personal conviction.  It’s not a matter of being right or wrong.  It’s my belief.”
 
Since the March 1 incident in the town of Richland, a “Boycott Arlene’s Flowers” Facebook page has shown up, while the shop’s own Facebook page has been flooded with messages of support.

The Statement that was released On the Facebook page of the Store Owner (has 827 likes on facebook)

In reply to comments on our site:

Thank you for all your comments on Facebook and email concerning the customer that came in and asked us to do his wedding.

This customer has been in many times and purchased flowers from us. When it came to doing his wedding, I said, “I could not do it because of my relationship with Jesus Christ.” He thanked me and said, “He respected my opinion.” We talked and gave each other a hug and he left.

Since that day, we have received many comments on same sex marriages. I believe, biblically, that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is my conviction, yours may be different.

I have hired all walks of people in different circumstances, and had the privilege of working with some very talented people that happen to be gay.

I’m sure there are many places you can purchase flowers, if you choose not to purchase them from Arlene’s, because of your beliefs, then I certainly understand.

A a Facebook page criticizing Stutzman's actions has been created since she refused the shop's services to Ingersoll on March 1, calling for a boycott of Arlene's Flowers.  (287 likes)

The AG’s office has filed a complaint in Benton County Superior Court asking for a permanent injunction requiring Arlene’s Flowers & Gifts to comply with provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.  It is asking that a $2,000 fine be imposed for every violation.

But Stutzman’s attorneys warned the AG that any legal action Ferguson takes would result in “an immediate challenge in federal court,” and indicated that “a number of national non-profit organizations . . . are ready for a fight.”

Benton County rejected Referendum 74 by a 50,000-29,000 (63% opposing same gender "marriage") vote margin in the November election.  Only one place in Eastern Washington, Whitman County, voted in favor of same gender "marriage".  The measure passed statewide thanks to heavy support in populous King County (Seattle).

On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union also stepped into the fray, sending Stutzman a letter announcing it would file a separate civil suit for damages on behalf of the engaged couple unless she agrees to provide flowers without discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, publish a letter of apology in the newspaper and donate $5,000 to a local youth center, in lieu of attorneys' fees.
"Your refusal to sell flowers to Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Freed for their wedding has hurt them very deeply. It is a disturbing reminder of the history of discrimination and disparate treatment that they and other gay men and women have experienced over the years," ACLU attorney Michael R. Scott said in the letter.