The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a florist who refused to provide flowers to a gay couple violated a state law that bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
In a unanimous ruling, the nine members of the court sided with a gay couple from Kennewick, Wash., who sued a local florist for discrimination. The florist, a devout Southern Baptist, told the couple she could not provide flowers for their wedding because of her religious beliefs.
The florist, Barronelle Stutzman, said she believes participating in or allowing her employees to participate in same-sex weddings by providing flowers would be condoning same-sex marriage, counter to her religious beliefs. A lower court judge sided with the couple and fined Stutzman $1,001 in penalties.
Stutzman appealed, marking the first time the nondiscrimination law reached the state Supreme Court in Olympia. “Discrimination based on same-sex marriage constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud wrote for the court. The court said the state’s anti-discrimination law does not unduly burden the florist’s free exercise of religion.
Gay rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of the couple, hailed the ruling as a win for nondiscrimination ordinances that have passed in 19 states.
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Washington court rules against florist who refused flowers for gay wedding https://t.co/fcnvpDgQUH pic.twitter.com/o0P7jUnK0X
— The Hill (@thehill) February 16, 2017
So much for freedom of religion.
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