Arlene's Flowers Case Sent Back To State Supreme Court

RICHLAND, WA - The U.S. Supreme Court has sent the case of a Richland florist who declined to serve a gay couple back the state's highest court. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a similar case out of Colorado.

In 2017, the state Supreme Court rules that florist Barronelle Stutzman had violated the civil rights of a gay couple by denying to make a bouquet for the couple's wedding. On June 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Colorado baker who refused to serve a gay couple was treated unfairly by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a 7-2 decision, the court found that the commission was hostile to the baker's religion.

The Arlene's Flowers case differs from the Colorado case, but the state Supreme Court must now weigh whether the Colorado decision affects the 2017 Arlene's Flowers ruling.

In March 2013, couple Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed asked Stutzman - a florist they had been using for almost a decade - to make them a bouquet for their upcoming wedding. She refused, citing her Christian religious beliefs.

Ingersoll sued Stutzman, as did Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Ingersoll claimed that Stutzman had violated his rights under the state freedom from discrimination law. Unlike the Colorado case, a state commission was not involved in the matter. On the other side, Stutzman's case attracted the attention of conservative religious groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom.

The U.S. Supreme Court's move gives Stutzman another chance to fight the ruling against her - but Ferguson said Monday, "I am confident they will come to the same conclusion they did in their previous, unanimous ruling upholding the civil rights of same-sex couples in our state."

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