A man says a local Indiana florist decided not to provide flowers for his wedding after she learned that he was — gasp — marrying a man, Mary!
It’s the sort of story that on the one hand we can’t believe is still a thing, but on the other, is so very 2018 it hurts.
David Elliott posted his story to Facebook after visiting Avon Florist on July 19.
He says he went over his wedding needs with the shop owner, but the discussion soured when he revealed his betrothed is a man.
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Speaking to local news, he recounted how the conversation went:
“She said, ‘What does your bride need?'”
“I said, ‘Well, there is no bride.'”
“Then she said, ‘Well, then I’m going on vacation and I can’t help you.'”
“I took that to mean because of my relationship, she couldn’t help me out”
Read his full post below:
Multiple small businesses in Indiana have made national news for refusing to serve LGBTQ people everything from baked goods to pizza.
Rather than standing up for its vulnerable communities, the state instead passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects business owners from being forced to provide services on religious grounds.
The law says it cannot be used to discriminate against gay people, but that looks to be an awfully fuzzy line.
Kangol
All of these religious exemption bills pushed by Republicans are Trojan horses to enable discrimination and segregation against LGBTQ people. We went through this one for decades–a century really–in terms of racial discrimination, and despite creeping attempts we’re not going backwards on that or LGBTQ rights. It’s one thing if you are a specifically religious institution like a church, synagogue or mosque but it’s another thing if you’re a general commercial business like a florist or one that serves a vital public interest like a hospital. Stop discriminating and serve everyone, or close your doors.
Billysees
Your right of course. This issue is not over with. I’ve read that persecution is a boomerang. I can wait to see if that’s true.
Tête Carrée
@Billysees
I’ve been on this earth more that 5 minutes and it’s not true. I applaud your naive optimism however.
P.S. Don’t chase your ball into the street without looking both ways.
fur_hunter
You do realize the number of MORONS who do NOT see the similarity between the racial discrimination prior to 1963 and what the Gay Community is facing? I have heard it time and time again. “Oh. They are NOT the same. Completely different.” All because they hear it from a pulpit that it is NOT the same. Yep! We can blame it on those like Robert Jeffress, Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Franklin Graham to name a few.
hello369
Believe it or not, marriage is a religious ceremony for a lot of people and I feel it’s petty and divisive to force straight religious people to participate in gay weddings. Tolerance goes both ways. And no, this is not similar to being denied service in a restaurant. You can’t compare a religious ceremony to getting a waffle at the waffle house. LGBT needs to stop pushing this. It will not win people over. Even the liberal supreme court justices voted against the cake shop gay couple.
fur_hunter
ALL those people who believe that marriage is a ‘religious’ ceremony are dumber than a post. The next time you talk with one of those imbeciles, ask them if they had to go to the courthouse and get a marriage certificate first before they could walk down the aisle. Anyone who tells you they didn’t, you can inform them that they are NOT legally married. It’s those stupid idiots who failed US Government class in high school who don’t understand that marriage is a civil institution to be legal. That’s why it is a ‘civil right’. HEY….MORONS! Do you get it, yet????? The ignorance and lack of education in the country are totally PROFOUND! Even during the religious event, the minister says. “By the power vested in me and the STATE OF….” That’s right….’the State of..’ IDIOTS!
MatthewHall
“both ways”? How do you tolerate someone who’s rejecting you?
footwork61
“It’s the sort of story that on the one hand we can’t believe is still a thing”
Really? Anyone who doesn’t live in NYC, SF, or LA has no trouble believing this is still a thing. We encounter it every day.