Olson 1

Samantha Olson
John Kubler
English 115
18 September 2014
Religion or Gay Rights?
If you had to choose between religious freedom and gay rights, what would you choose?
Would you believe that every person has the right to practice their religion freely? Or would you
believe that people should not be treated any different simply because of their sexual orientation?
The judges of a Washington case are faced with these sorts of questions and must decide which
side to defend and which side to oppose. Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlenes Flower
Shop is facing a lawsuit because she refused to provide floral arrangements for a wedding for two
of her gay customers. Robert Ingersoll and his partner Curt Freed had been long time customers at
Stutzmans business. She was always kind and supportive of their relationship, but once gay
marriage was allowed and they decided to get married, Stutzman would not provide for their
ceremony. According to Denny Burk, a Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce University, the
couple was told that Stutzman couldnt participate because of her relationship with Jesus Christ
(Burk 1). Although Stutzman has religious freedom and is only following the strong beliefs of her
religion, I recommend that the judges of the Arlenes Flower Shop lawsuit case side with Ingersoll
and Freed because under the Consumer Protection Act, it is unlawful [in the state of Washington]
to discriminate against customers on the basis of sexual orientation (Wong 1).
This case closely resembles the Elane Photography case in New Mexico in which a store
owner refused to take wedding pictures of a lesbian couple. The owners explain that they are not
against homosexuals, but deny service when gay marriage is involved. By Washington law if a
business provides a product or service to opposite sex couples for their wedding, then it must

Olson 2
provide same sex couples the same products or services (Wong 1). All of the people here on this
Earth are created equal, and it is not fair that some of us are treated differently because of our
sexual orientation. All couples deserve to be treated fairly no matter what. Some may say that
Stutzman has the right to follow her religious views and deny her services for the gay couples
wedding, and yes I understand; however, since she had already agreed to a non-discrimination law
including sexual orientation, she is obligated to provide for them.
I side with Ingersoll and Freed because I strongly believe that everyone is created equal
and I find it troubling that some people are still denying their services to people they see
differently from themselves. With the Hobby Lobby case, I took the side of the owners and their
religious freedom because they were never discriminating against any race or gender. Its not that
the owners wished to take rights away from their female employees; they just wanted to prevent
abortion or death of an unborn child. Religious freedom is important and I am all for it, but I value
human rights even more.
I recommend that the judges of this Arlenes Flower Shop case vote in favor of Ingersoll
and Freed because they deserve to be provided with the same service as anyone else. I feel that
they were taken aback when Stutzman denied them business because of the near decade worth of
loyalty and purchases they had made from her. I know that religion plays a very important role in
todays society, but so does sexual orientation and if there were already non discrimination laws in
place, Stutzman needs to follow them. The same goods and services need to be available for gay
weddings and straight weddings. Every human being is entitled to be treated just as equally as
their neighbor.

Olson 3
Works Cited
Wong, Curtis M. "Barronelle Stutzman, Washington Florist Who Rejected Gay Couple,
Faces Lawsuit From State Attorney General." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
"Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers, State of Washington v. Arlene's Flowers, and Arlene's
Flowers v. Ferguson - Alliance Defending Freedom." Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers,
State of Washington v. Arlene's Flowers, and Arlene's Flowers v. Ferguson Alliance Defending Freedom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
Burk, Denny. "The Barronelle Stutzman Story." Denny Burk. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept.
2014.