|
State Supreme Court rules against anti-LGBT Richland florist
State has compelling interest in eradicating discrimination, justices say |
by Mike Andrew -
SGN Staff Writer
The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that Pasco florist Barronelle Stutzman was correctly prosecuted and fined for refusing to create floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding.
Stutzman claimed that she refused to sell wedding flowers to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed for their 2013 wedding because same-sex marriage violates her Christian beliefs. In a strongly worded ruling, all nine Supreme Court justices disagreed.
'The State of Washington bars discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. Discrimination based on same-sex marriage constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,' Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud wrote for the full court in its February 16 decision.
'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 [Washington Law Against Discrimination].'
The justices also dismissed Stutzman's contention that state law violated her constitutionally protected freedom of religion by requiring her to serve same-sex couples.
'We also hold that the WLAD may be enforced against Stutzman because it does not infringe any constitutional protection,' McCloud wrote.
'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.'
In a February ruling, Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom found that Stutzman's refusal to provide flowers because of sexual orientation violated Washington's anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws. She has been fined $1,000, plus $1 in court costs and fees.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who sued Stutzman, said the state's argument rested on long-standing legal principles and that reversing Ekstrom's decision would weaken the anti-discrimination law.
Share on Facebook
Share on Delicious
Share on StumbleUpon!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
State Supreme Court rules against anti-LGBT Richland florist
State has compelling interest in eradicating discrimination, justices say
------------------------------
Ed Murray wins key union endorsement
------------------------------
King County among the first in the nation to achieve a global milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS
------------------------------
CDC: Overall HIV rates down, but rising for Gay men 25-34
------------------------------
LGBTQ Allyship hosts Love Big! Community Forum on 'Next Steps'
------------------------------
Imperial Court of Seattle hosts Coronation 2017
------------------------------
Out like Flynn
Adam Smith demands 'full investigation'
------------------------------
SPD and hate crimes: news roundup
------------------------------
Pramila Jayapal elected vice ranking member of House Budget Committee
------------------------------
New findings reveal health and aging experiences of LGBT adults across the nation
------------------------------
7 ways the Affordable Care Act protects LGBTQ Americans
------------------------------
If you worked for Walmart and had a same-sex spouse between 2011 and 2013, read this
------------------------------
Incarceration rate of LGB people three times the general population
------------------------------
LGBT envoy will stay on, State Department says
------------------------------
DeVos-funded group classified as hate group by SPLC
Alliance Defending Freedom supports recriminalization of Gay sex
------------------------------
What happened to the federal website for disabled students?
Murray and Cantwell write letter to DeVos
------------------------------
Weekly Pets
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
BREAKING NEWS
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
|