Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lawsuit over flowers at gay wedding

The state of Washington is suing Arlene's Flowers owner Barronelle Stutzman for refusing to provide flowers for a gay wedding. The Richland, Washington florist say she couldn't do it because of her "relationship with Jesus." The state attorney general wrote in the lawsuit that this is a violation of the Washington anti-discrimination law. It's rarity for the government to file a discrimination suit on its own. Stutzman could have signed a document promising to provide flowers for gay wedding in the future but her own lawyers say this is not an issue of discrimination but an instance of the government infringing on her First Amendment right to free speech and that Stutzman is entitled to exercise her religious conscience and arranging flowers is an act of personal expression.

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