by Kelsey Harkness February 20, 2015
A judge in Washington state ruled this week that a 70-year-old florist who declined to make flower arrangements for a gay couple’s wedding violated the state’s anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws.
In a phone interview with The Daily Signal, Barronelle Stutzman said the decision—and its accompanying fines—will put her flower shop out of business, or worse.
After the fines and legal fees, \”There won’t be anything left,\” Stutzman said.
\”They want my home, they want my business, they want my personal finances as an example for other people to be quiet.\”
Stutzman owns Arlene’s Flowers, which is a small flower shop in Richland, Wash. She has been in the industry for over 40 years, for the most part serving customers regardless of their sexual orientation.
But in March 2013, when Robert Ingersoll asked Stutzman to design floral arrangements for his same-sex wedding to Curt Freed, she declined, citing her Christian faith.
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