Curt Freed, left, and his husband Robert Ingersoll pose for a photo after a hearing before Washington’s Supreme Court, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, in Bellevue, Washington. Washington state’s top court ruled for a second time on Thursday that a Christian florist discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing to sell them flowers for their wedding, setting up a potential clash over gay and religious rights at the U.S. Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the Washington Supreme Court’s nine justices said that Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, violated a state anti-discrimination law by refusing service to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, for their marriage in 2013. Stutzman, a member of the Southern Baptist denomination, believes that marriage should be exclusively between a man and a woman. Her lawyers vowed an immediate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The state court previously ruled against Stutzman in 2017, but was ordered to reconsider the case after the nation’s highest court last year sided with a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for two men, citing religious beliefs. That ruling was narrow and did not resolve the constitutional issues raised, instead finding that the Colorado […]
