Story at a glance
- In 2013, Arlene’s Flowers refused to sell a same-sex couple a flower arrangement for their wedding.
- A lengthy legal battle ensued and Barronelle Stutzman petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
- However, both parties reached a settlement agreement and the Washington Supreme Court ruling that found the florist had violated state discrimination law will remain in place.
A Washington state florist who refused to make an arrangement for a same-sex couple has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against her, just as the Supreme Court was considering a petition to hear the case.
In 2013, Barronelle Stutzman, 77, refused to sell Curt Freed and Robert Ingersoll, a gay couple, a flower arrangement for their wedding due to her religious beliefs. Now, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a group representing Stutzman, released a statement on Thursday announcing she reached a settlement with Freed and Ingersoll.
Stutzman agreed to pay $5,000 in damages and withdrew her petition for a rehearing by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Within ADF’s statement was a letter written by Stutzman where she explained her legal journey after she turned down Freed and Ingersoll’s floral arrangement request.
“What followed were lawsuits filed against me and a concerted effort to either force me to change my religious beliefs or pay a devastating price for believing them including being threatened with the loss of my home, my business, and my life savings,” she wrote.
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Ingersoll and Freed published an op-ed in the Seattle Times explaining how being turned away from Stutzman’s business made them feel.
“We were reminded how discrimination works: Individuals are categorized, depersonalized, labeled,” they wrote.
The couple went on to explain why they moved forward with their lawsuit because they didn’t want the state of Washington, “to become a state where gay and lesbian couples had to fear being turned away simply because of who they are.”
According to CNN, the couple said they will donate the $5,000 settlement money to a local advocacy group that provides peer support, education and advocacy to LGBTQ+ people, their parents and allies.
The legal battle began in 2013 after Ingersoll and Freed filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Washington for Benton County where they argued they were discriminated against based on their sexual orientation by Arlene’s Flowers. They argued that violated the state’s Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and preserves the right to be free from discrimination.
That suit was eventually elevated to the Washington state Supreme Court which found that Stutzman had violated the law. That decision will now stay in place.
Stutzman then petitioned to have her case reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which according to CNN, was denied last July over dissent of Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito. However, Stutzman’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider its decision, citing a decision in a separate dispute.
Though Stutzman conceded to her legal battle, she cited hope in a separate case, 303 Creative v. Elenis, which is also being handled by ADF. That case focuses on a web designer that has taken issue with designing websites for wedding ceremonies that promote or celebrate same-sex weddings in Colorado.
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