Christian Florist’s Case Sent Back to Washington State by SCOTUS
Isa
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Right now, the outrage du jour is over Sarah Sanders’ revelation that she was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia because she works for President Trump.
While many conservatives are understandably quite angry at the double-standard that the left seems to have when it comes to refusing service based on one’s personal moral convictions, I think we should instead respect the right of the restauranteur to refuse service to whomever she chooses.
After all, isn’t this what we’ve been fighting for for years now, after watching Christian small-business owners find themselves in the crosshairs of the “tolerant” left after refusing to serve same-sex weddings?
So the SCOTUS decision on a Washington state florist’s case couldn’t come at a better time–and we ought to take it as a good reminder of what the kind of liberty we truly believe in.
The Daily Wire reports:
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that a Washington state court would have to reconsider its ruling against a florist who served a gay couple for over ten years but would not do their wedding flowers. The Supreme Court’s decision was catalyzed by their ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case in which they ruled for Colorado baker Jack Phillips.
The Court stated vis-à-vis Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington, “The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Supreme Court of Washington for further consideration in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n.”
This is welcome news for Barronelle Stutzman, the patron of the flower shop, who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding, although she had happily served one of the men in question for 10 years, and like Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop, said she was happy to provide them with services of any other kind.
Her defense has always argued that, as her arrangements are her own personal artistic expression, she is protected by the First Amendment against using that expression to support something she does not support as a devout Christian.
Stutzman had been fined by the state and ordered to provide floral arrangements for same-sex weddings. Her appeal had been put on hold until SCOTUS had ruled on Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Human Rights Commission.
Remember, American liberty is available for everyone. If we want the right to refuse service based on our personal convictions, we need to accept that the left has the right to refuse service as well. This is a great opportunity to remind them that the values we always fight to maintain are a two-way street.
They might be big, fat, hypocrites for supporting the Red Hen Restaurant and not supporting Jack Phillips and Baronelle Stutzman, but we don’t need to be hypocrites too.
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