And Now— for the Rest of the Story of Christian Florist vs Homosexual Activists

Barronelle Stutzman of Richland, WA, announced the legal settlement, saying she has paid $5,000 to Robert Ingersoll, The Tri-City Herald reported.  She also wished Ingersoll, who had been her customer at Arlene’s Flowers for almost a decade, “the very best.”

The agreement allows Stutzman to “preserve her conscience” by not forcing her to act against her Southern Baptist religious beliefs, according to a news release from her attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).  They reached the settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  It also prevents Stutzman from having “to pay potentially ruinous attorneys’ fees,” the release said.  “I am willing to turn the legal struggle for freedom over to others.  At age 77, it’s time to retire and give my business to someone else,” Stutzman said.

Stutzman was subjected to unprecedented judicial persecution for her Biblical views on homosexuality.  The Washington State Supreme Court (WSSC) issued two unanimous decisions declaring the U.S. Constitution does not grant a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people.  The ACLU of WA said. “We took on this case because we were worried about the harm being turned away would cause LGBTQ people.”  Freed and Ingersoll said in a statement, “We are glad the Washington Supreme Court rulings will stay in place to ensure that same-sex couples are protected from discrimination and should be served by businesses like anyone else.”

The ACLU brought the anti-discrimination lawsuit against Stutzman in 2013 on behalf of Ingersoll and Freed.  WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued separately, saying the floral artist violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act by declining to provide services based on sexual orientation.  A Benton County Superior Court judge in 2015 ruled that Stutzman must pay $1 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the state, along with a $1,000 civil penalty, for discriminating against the couple.  That judgment still stands.

The two cases through appeals by Stutzman went to the WSSC, and then to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).  The country’s highest court vacated WA state’s previous ruling and sent it back to the lower court in 2018 for another review.  The WSSC in 2019 ruled unanimously that state courts did not act with animosity toward religion when they ruled Stutzman broke the state’s anti-discrimination laws by refusing on religious grounds to provide wedding flowers.  Stutzman and ADF — in their second attempt to get the case before the SCOTUS — filed a petition for review in September 2019.  SCOTUS in July 2021 declined to take up the case.  Stutzman responded with a petition for rehearing, but she will withdraw it as part of her settlement.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel