Florist takes appeal to Washington Supreme Court in gay marriage case

The Washington Supreme Court heard on Tuesday the case of a 71-year-old florist who was sued by the government for declining to service a same-sex wedding ceremony.

Barronnelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, refused to create a floral arrangement in 2013 for the wedding ceremony of Rob Ingersoll, who had been her customer for nine years. She was sued by the state attorney general and found in violation of Washington’s anti-discrimination law in 2015.

Adèle Anxier Keim, legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Ms. Stutzman, said the government shouldn’t be in the business of suing Christians who decline to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies because of their religious beliefs.

“Americans have a variety of beliefs about important issues like sex and religion, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Ms. Keim said in a statement. “It’s outrageous that the government would sue someone like Barronelle — who has served and employed LGBT people for decades — because her faith doesn’t allow her to participate in a same-sex wedding.”

Before she declined to participate in their wedding, Ms. Stutzman served Mr. Ingersoll and his partner, Curt Freed, for years, including making floral arrangements for the couple to celebrate Valentine’s Day and other holidays.

Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Freed married in 2013. A different florist eventually provided them with a free flower arrangement for their wedding ceremony. A court found the couple had suffered less than $8 in damages by the incident.

But the couple said it was “disappointed to be denied service by Arlene’s Flowers after doing business with them for so many years.”

“Planning our wedding should have been a joyful time in our lives, but instead we were hurt and saddened by being rejected for who we are,” they said in a statement.

Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Freed said they “respect everyone’s beliefs,” but businesses have an “obligation to serve everyone.”

Elizabeth Gill, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the couple, said the freedom to live by the tenets of one’s religion is a “fundamental part of America.”

“But religious beliefs do not give any of us a right to ignore the law or to harm others because of who they are,” Ms. Gill said in a statement. “When people, gay or straight, black, brown, or white go to a business, they should be treated equally and not be discriminated against.”

The Washington Law Against Discrimination protects against discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, among other identities.

The state offered Ms. Stutzman the opportunity to settle the lawsuit, if she agreed to create floral arrangements for same-sex weddings in the future. She declined.

A state court ruled last year that she is responsible for Mr. Ingersoll’s attorney’s fees, putting her business, home and life savings in jeopardy.

Ms. Keim said the First Amendment exists in order to protect people from situations exactly like this one.

“The government’s job is to protect dissent, not to punish it,” she said.