Image

Elderly Christian florist dragged through courts after Attorney General spots a post on social media suggesting she would not design floral arrangements for her gay friend’s wedding.

Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian florist from Washington State, said Rob Ingersoll is one of her favourite customers. Rob had been one of Barronelle’s customers for close to a decade. To Barronelle, Rob was more than a customer. He was a friend. But when Rob asked Barronelle to design the floral arrangements for his upcoming same-sex…


Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian florist from Washington State, said Rob Ingersoll is one of her favourite customers. Rob had been one of Barronelle’s customers for close to a decade. To Barronelle, Rob was more than a customer. He was a friend.

But when Rob asked Barronelle to design the floral arrangements for his upcoming same-sex wedding, Barronelle had to politely decline because of her Christian convictions. Barronelle said she would gladly sell him any of the prearranged flowers, or any of the loose flowers, but as much as she loved Rob, she couldn’t create something to celebrate an event that was against her faith.

Rob said he understood. The two chatted for a while, then hugged and that was the end of it. Until a few weeks later when Barronelle received a letter in the mail from Washington State’s Attorney General.

“The government was threatening to sue me unless I designed floral arrangements for same-sex weddings,” Barronelle said.

Rob had not filed a complaint. The Attorney General simply saw a post that Rob’s partner had put on social media. He then took it upon himself to threaten Barronelle.

“The government and the ACLU sued my business, and me personally, for discrimination,” Barronelle said. “My lawyers and I have been battling this case in court for four years.

“My case is simple: Will I serve gay customers? Yes! I served Rob joyfully for over nine years and would welcome him back to my shop even now. Will I hire gay employees? Yes! And I have. Will I let the government force me to create art expressing things I don’t believe in? No. And that’s my right. That’s every American’s First Amendment right,” she said.

WATCH:

The Caldron Pool Show

The Caldron Pool Show: #11 – Senator Alex Antic
The Caldron Pool Show: #30 – Genesis and the Exodus – Fact or Fiction? (with David Rohl)
The Caldron Pool Show: #1 – ZUBY
The Caldron Pool Show: #25 – Traditional Schooling Is Dying – Featuring Kale Kneale
Image

Support

If you value our work and would like to support us, you can do so by visiting our support page. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Visit our search page.

Copyright © 2023, Caldron Pool

Permissions

Everything published at Caldron Pool is protected by copyright and cannot be used and/or duplicated without prior written permission. Links and excerpts with full attribution are permitted. Published articles represent the opinions of the author and may not reflect the views of all contributors at Caldron Pool.