Ethics Paper for business law course-----a minimum of 800 word

Firms Balk at Gay Weddings Photographers, Bakers Face Legal Challenges After Rejecting Jobs on Religious Grounds BY NATHAN KOPPEL

AND AsHBY JONES

As more states permit gay couples to marry or form civil unions, wedding professionals in at least six states have run head- long into state antidiscrimination laws after refusing for religious reasons to bake cakes, arrange flowers or perform other services for same-sex couples.

The issue gained attention in August, when the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that anAl- buquerque photography business violated state antidiscrimination laws after its owners declined to snap photos of a lesbian couple's commitment ceremony.

Similar cases are pending in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Ore- gon and Washington, and some experts think the underlying legal question-whether free-speech and religious rights should allow exceptions to state antidiscrimi- nation laws-could ultimately wind its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Religious-rights advocates ar- gue that the Constitution affords people the right to abstain from a ceremony that violates their reli- gious beliefs. "It's an evisceration

Laws in Conflict

Same-sex marriages have highlighted tensions between antidiscrimination and free- speech measures:

+ Laws in many states ban businesses from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation.

versus

+ The free-speech clause in the First Amendment may protect people from being compelled to speak in favor of issues with which they disagree.

+ The First Amendment also protects the right to 'freely exercise' one's religion.

+ Laws in some states restrict the government from hindering the free exercise of religion.

of our freedom of association," · said John Eastman, the chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to le- galizing same-sex marriage.

Supporters of gay marriage ar- gue that the businesses objecting to working on same-sex ceremo- nies face an uphill battle, as courts are likely to view the cases as a matter of civil rights. They say the U.S. Supreme Court has already addressed the issues in question on several occasions when it rejected arguments against laws requiring businesses to serve African-Americans.

"This really isn't a new fight," said Jennifer Pizer, a director with Lambda Legal, a nonprofit civil-rights organization that ad- vocates on behalf of same-sex couples seeking the right to marry.

In the New Mexico case, the state Supreme Court rejected a claim by Jonathan and Elaine Hu- guenin, the owners of Elane Pho- tography, who argued that they shouldn't be forced to create im- ages that tell "a positive and ap- proving" story about a ceremony they fmd objectionable.

The couple declined to discuss the case. Jordan Lorence, their

lawyer, said he would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Ameri- cans are now on notice that the price of doing business is their freedom," he said.

Vanessa Willock, who flied a discrimination complaint after learning that Elane Photography wouldn't photograph her commit- ment ceremony, said in a state- ment that she was grateful that the New Mexico Supreme Court "has ensured that we may all walk with dignity."

In Colorado, baker Jack Phil- lips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood outside Denver, is facing state sanctions for refusing to work on same-sex weddings, after he acknowledged telling about a half-dozen patrons that his Christian beliefs pre- vented him from baking wedding cakes for such ceremonies.

"We were mortified by the ex- perience," said David Mullins, a gay man whose offer of business was declined by Mr. Phillips last year and subsequently filed a dis- crimination complaint.

Mr. Phillips declined to be in- terviewed. In an email he sent to friends earlier this year, which his lawyer confirmed was authen- tic, he wrote that his refusal to

bake cakes for same-sex wed- dings is not motivated by a "ha- tred of gays" but rather "a desire to live my life in obedience to [God] and His Word."

In Oregon, bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein learned in August that a state complaint had been flied against them be- cause they had refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian cou- ple. A lawyer for the Kleins, who declined to comment, said the couple has done business with gay people for years, but didn't want to be forced to participate in an event contrary to their Christian beliefs, especially given that same-sex marriage still isn't legal in Oregon.

"My clients are simply saying. that we have the right to live, work and operate our business according to our principles," said the lawyer, Herb Grey.

The lesbian couple who filed a complaint against the Kleins de- clined to comment. Their lawyer, Paul Thompson, said her clients "were humiliated and trea ed un- lawfully."

In Washington, the state attor- ney general sued florist Barra- nelle Stutzman after she declined to provide wedding floral ar- rangements for a gay couple. The couple, Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, sued as well, despite hav- ing been loyal customers of the Richland, Wash., business, Ar- lene's Flowers, for years.

"We had to do something," said Mr. Freed. "No one should have to go through the kind of hurt, disappointment and embar- rassment that we went through."

Ms. Stutzman countersued Washington in August, claiming the U.S. and state constitutions protect her from being forced to perform actions contrary to her "religious beliefs and her con- science." She also argued that the state, in forcing her to "use her artistic skill to personally craft expressive floral arrangements" for a same-sex wedding, violated her free-speech rights.

"There are plenty of florists who could provide arrangements for same-sex weddings," said her lawyer, Dale Schowengerdt. "The state has no good reason to cause my client to violate her own con- science."