Arlene’s Flowers owner rejects AG’s settlement offer
The Richland flower shop owner sued over her refusal to provide services for a same-sex wedding has declined the state Attorney General’s settlement offer.
Barronelle Stutzman wrote in a letter Friday that the offer “reveals that you don’t really understand me or what this conflict is all about.”
“It’s about freedom, not money. I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my freedom to honor God in doing what I do best is more important,” Stutzman wrote.
A Benton County Superior Court judge ruled earlier this week that Stutzman broke the law when she told longtime customer Robert Ingersoll in March 2013 that she couldn’t provide services for his wedding to Curt Freed because of her religious beliefs. Stutzman is a Christian from the Southern Baptist tradition.
The state Attorney General and the couple both filed separate suits in April of that year.
In his ruling Wednesday, Judge Alex Ekstrom granted summary judgment in favor of the state and the couple, which means the matter won’t go to trial in March as scheduled. Ekstrom determined the essential facts aren’t in dispute and a trial isn’t needed.
Penalties of up to $2,000 per violation can be assessed, plus attorney and court fees.
The decision will be appealed, Stutzman’s attorneys have said.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that he would accept a $2,000 penalty, $1 for fees and costs, plus an agreement not to discriminate in the future and to end further litigation. “Before this case began, my office wrote to Ms. Stutzman, asking her to comply with state law. Had she agreed to no longer discriminate, my office would not have filed suit, and Ms. Stutzman would not have paid any costs, fees or penalties,” Ferguson said.
He said his “primary goal has always been to bring about an end to the defendants’ unlawful conduct and to make clear that I will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
In her letter Friday, Stutzman said it’s been “mentally and emotionally exhausting to be at the center of this controversy for nearly two years.”
“Since 2012, same-sex couples all over the state have been free to act on their beliefs about marriage, but because I follow the Bible’s teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, I am no longer free to act on my beliefs,” she wrote, adding that she prays Ferguson will reconsider his position.
Stutzman said she “kindly served (Ingersoll) for nearly a decade and would gladly continue to do so. I truly want the best for my friend. I’ve also employed and served many members of the LGBT community, and I will continue to do so regardless of what happens with this case. You chose to attack my faith and pursue this not simply as a matter of law, but to threaten my very means of working, eating and having a home. If you are serious about clarifying the law, then I urge you to drop your claims against my home, business and other assets and pursue the legal claims through the appeal process.”
Stutzman has counter-sued the state. That case is on hold in federal court.
This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Arlene’s Flowers owner rejects AG’s settlement offer."