Cato: Supreme Court Should Decide the “Expressive Wedding Vendor” Issue Once and for All

 Arlene’s Flowers, run by Barronelle Stutzman in the southeastern Washington town of Richland, designs and sells floral arrangements for many occasions in Richland, Washington. Mrs. Stutzman, for religious reasons, believes that marriage is a spiritual union between a man and a woman and doesn’t create floral arrangements same‐​sex weddings. This case began when long‐​time clients Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed asked Mrs. Stutzman to create the floral arrangements for their wedding. She respectfully declined and referred them to several nearby florists.

To be clear, Mrs. Stutzman serves everyone regardless of sexual orientation or any other category. For nearly a decade, Messrs. Ingersoll and Freed used Mrs. Stutzman for their anniversary and Valentine’s Day needs, for example. Nevertheless, Mrs. Stutzman’s conscience won’t allow her to provide flowers to celebrate a same‐​sex marriage, even for long‐​time friends and customers.

Mr. Freed’s Facebook posts expressing disappointment at the situation gained media attention, which caused the couple to receive enough free floral arrangement offers to have 20 weddings. Additionally, the Washington attorney general personally reached out to the couple. Both the couple and the state ended up suing Mrs. Stutzman for violating Washington’s antidiscrimination law.

The trial court ruled against Arlene’s Flowers and the state supreme court affirmed, holding that floral design did not constitute First Amendment‐​protected artistic expression. The U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case for reconsideration in the light of its 2018 ruling in a similar context (except a baker instead of a florist) in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission that state officials displayed anti‐​religious animus and thus could not enforce their law. In the absence of similar anti‐​religious red flags, it’s probably not surprising that the state supreme court reinstated its previous opinion almost verbatim.

Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/supreme-court-should-decide-expressive-wedding-vendor-issue-once-all