Arlene's Flowers

Barronelle Stutzman is the sole owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington. One of her longtime customers at the store, Robert Ingersoll requested Stutzman’s creative skills for his same-sex wedding-ceremony; a request in which Stutzman declined. Stutzman previously served Ingersoll and his partner for nine years without any issues, and Stutzman also has employed members of the LGBTQ community unto her staff. The request for flowers was only denied to Ingersoll on this specific occasion because it was made clear that the purchase of her flowers would be for his impending same-sex wedding ceremony; the wedding-ceremony was in conflict with Stutzman’s Christian ideology and beliefs. Stutzman holds the belief that the covenant of marriage is only to be between a man and a woman, and not two partners of the same-sex. 

The news of the incident eventually became publicized, and on a local news broadcast Stutzman is quoted as saying that “You have to make a stand somewhere in your life on what you believe and what you don't believe, and it was just a time I had to take a stand”. After the broadcast aired, two separate lawsuits were quickly filed against Stuzman and her florist business. The first lawsuit was pursued by Washington Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, and the second by the American Civil Liberties Union, the legal group who represented Ingersoll and his partner Curt Freed. Attorneys for the ACLU proposed a settlement in the suit with the following conditions: Stutzman making a public apology, donating money to a LGBTQ youth center, and a promise to no longer refuse service to customers based on their sexual orientation. The legal group representing Stutzman, known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, declined the settlement offer, stating she should not be required to violate her religious beliefs and also attempted to file a countersuit against Bob Ferguson. The suit against Ferguson was filed as a consumer protection lawsuit, and a settlement was proposed in which Stutzman would be fined $2,000, and an agreement to not discriminate in the future. Stutzman declined the settlement again citing the state's constitution in regard to "freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment”. 

Stutzman is currently pushing to get the case through to the Supreme Court, as the Washington Supreme Court has ruled against her twice. This case is currently active and is occurring just two years after the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs Colorado Civil Rights Commission case. The Masterpiece Cakeshop case was almost identical in nature to Stutzman’s case except instead of flowers being denied for wedding purposes, it was a wedding cake. The ruling in that case fell in favor to Philips and his cake business. The Supreme Court reasoned that while gay persons and same-sex couples are afforded civil rights protections under the laws and the Constitution, religious and philosophical objections to same-sex marriage are protected views and can also be protected forms of expression. 

I agree with how the Washington Supreme Court has been ruling against Stutzman, and despite her religious beliefs I think she should simply sell the couple the flowers and continue on with her business. The Caskeshop case ruling would not even stand in her favor because the primary cause for Philips and his business winning the case was due to the Colorado Commissions failing to act in a neutral manner. They continuously slandered and harassed Philips for his beliefs, thus losing the neutrality of the matter. There is no harassment in Stutzman’s case, she has received no egregious backlash for her beliefs. There is a slippery slope, I am concerned with as it relates to business determining who or whom groups they decide to refuse to sell a product to based on their identity. Stutzman can easily refuse to sell to a religious-jew requesting flowers for his barmixtzfah or refuse to sell to a any person identifying as transgender. If every business were to sell to people based specifically on their preferences beliefs, the culture of the american capitalist system would take a major hit, and the division among people could essentially revert back to segregation.