Tag Archives: State: Washington

Yakima Herald:

Q: Your office is suing Richland florist Arlene Stutzman for refusing service to a gay customer who was getting married. Then Alliance Defending Freedom countersued on religious-freedom grounds. How do you reconcile the gay marriage law and laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation with a state constitution that protects “freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship”?

A: I reconcile it by looking at the law. And the law is clear: If you run a business, you can’t discriminate against certain classes of individuals. You can’t discriminate on the basis of race. You can’t discriminate on the basis of sex. And since 2006 you cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. That’s the law in Washington state. From my perspective the case is clear. A court will ultimately determine who’s right in this case. But I’m confident the outcome will be favorable.

LifeNews: In a story making news this week, last August a twelve-year old girl Washington girl was raped and impregnated by a thirty-one year-old man who took her to a Washington State Planned Parenthood and forced her to have an abortion. According to reports, she told Planned Parenthood that the father was a fourteen-year old boy in an effort to protect the identity of her rapist; presumably at the recommendation of her rapist.

Dale Schowengerdt appeared on KYKN with Bill Post to discuss the Arlene’s Flowers Litigation. | MP3 Audio 9:58 mins

Tri-City Herald: “Barronelle Stutzman’s only desire is that she not be forced to violate her faith when it comes to her beliefs about marriage,” said senior legal counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs.”

KNDU.com (NBC): A spokesman for the non-profit organization, the Alliance Defending Freedom, said Monday the ACLU has no reason to force the owner of Arlene’s Flowers to act against her beliefs.

Dale Schowengerdt appeared on the Dori Monson Show at KRIO Radio to discuss the Arlene’s Flowers litigation. | MP3 audio 11:07 mins

Michael Foust of Baptist Press at Christian Examiner: The ADF countersuit says forcing Stutsman to service a gay wedding violates her rights under Washington’s constitution, which ADF says “has broader protections for conscience and religious freedom” than does the U.S. Constitution. “The Washington State Constitution, in Article 1, Section 11, absolutely protects ‘freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief, and worship’ and guarantees that ‘no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion,’” the countersuit says.

RH Reality Check: Finally, in Washington state the Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a counter-suit against Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on behalf of a florist sued by the state after she refused to provide flowers for a wedding ceremony of a same-sex couple. The counter-suit argues that the state’s lawsuit is an attempt to force the florist to act contrary to her deeply held religious beliefs and in violation of the Washington state constitution, which has in it a specific clause protecting the rights of conscience and religion.

“Numerous florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the ACLU has no reason to try to force this florist to violate her deeply held beliefs. Arlene’s Flowers has both served and employed people who identify as homosexual. Barronelle Stutzman’s only desire is that she not be forced to violate her faith when it comes to her beliefs about marriage. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs.”

The Inquisitr: The suit was filed on her behalf by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization that advocates “for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.” The lawsuit says that, because of Stutzman’s Christian faith, “she cannot as a matter of conscience participate in or facilitate a same-sex wedding.” The suit also claims that Stutzman’s 1st Amendment rights are being violated by trying to force her to provide for same-sex weddings.“Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” the alliance’s senior legal counsel Dale Schowengerdt said.

LA Times: “Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” senior legal counsel Dale Schowengerdt of the alliance said in a statement.

UPI: The suit was filed on her behalf by a group that opposes same-sex marriage, the Alliance Defending Freedom.

FRC Washington Update: After the ACLU filed a second lawsuit, Barronelle turned to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Together, they’re countersuing Washington for violating her Christian beliefs. “Marriage has religious significance,” ADF argues, “apart from any civil significance. [Stutzman] believed that [servicing a gay marriage] would compel her to express a message with her creativity that violates God’s commands.”

LifeNews: With Governor Peter Shumlin’s signature on a bill the state legislature approved, Vermont today becomes the third state after Oregon and Washington to legalize assisted suicide.

LifeNews: A man in Washington state took a 12-year-old girl to a Planned Parenthood clinic for an abortion to cover up his sexual assault on the teenage girl. The abortion business apparently did the abortion without hesitation.

The Advocate: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending Stutzman.

Pink News: Attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom legal ministry, filed the new lawsuit on behalf of Stutzman on Thursday, at Benton County Superior Court, reports the Associated Press. Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt, released in a statement saying: ”Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs.”

Christian Post: “Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt in a statement. “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.”

Baptist Press: A florist who was told by the state of Washington she must provide her services for a gay wedding is countersuing the state, saying she has served gay customers her entire career and is concerned the state’s position on gay weddings will harm religious freedom.

Think Progress: The suit claims that Stutzman is entitled to religious conscience protections that allow her to ignore nondiscrimination protections, as ADF attorney Dale Schowengerdt attempted to explain to WorldNetDaily . . .

Towerload: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.

On Top Magazine: Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel with the ADF, said Stutzman had a right to refuse service based on her religious convictions. “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” he said. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs.”

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty: The counter suit, filed by an anti-gay-marriage group called Alliance Defending Freedom, argues that Ferguson’s suit is attempting to force Barronelle Stutzman to act contrary to her religious convictions in violation of her freedoms under the state constitution.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions. Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Dale Schowengerdt, senior legal counsel with the Arizona-based group.

Seattle Times (AP): Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers claims the state is violating her religious beliefs. The Tri-City Herald reports that attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry, filed the suit Thursday in Benton County Superior Court on behalf of Stutzman.

Gayopolis: Whenever there’s a lawsuit like this, scratch the surface and you’ll find the odious Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) behind it. One more thing to thank Arizona for.

Tri-CityHerald:“Everyone knows that plenty of florists are willing to assist in same-sex ceremonies, so the state has no reason to force Barronelle to violate her deeply held beliefs,” attorney Dale Schowengerdt with Alliance Defending Freedom said in a statement.

NW News Network: Her lead counsel, Dale Schowengerdt says, there is no reason to use the state’s anti-discrimination law to force her to provide flowers for this ceremony. In fact, he says her religious rights and freedom are rooted in the state’s constitution.

King5.com: “In America, the government is supposed to protect freedom, not use its intolerance for certain viewpoints to intimidate citizens into acting contrary to their faith convictions,” said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “Family business owners are constitutionally guaranteed the freedom to live and work according to their beliefs. It is this very freedom that gives America its cherished diversity and protects citizens from state-mandated conformity.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Washington florist sued by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a countersuit against him Thursday.

Whidbey News Times: An attempt to clarify a policy regarding prayer at the start of Oak Harbor City Council meetings transformed into a political hot potato.

National Review Bench Memos: Washington governor Jay Inslee yesterday signed into law the last piece of a multi-year effort to rewrite state statutes in something that resembles Orwell’s Newspeak. Reuters notes that 3,500 state code sections have now been “tediously scrubbed” of gender bias . . .

Joseph Backholm of Family Policy Institute of WA at Citizen Link: Those amendments were rejected. In refusing to provide those legal protections, the legislature expressed their desire for precisely this kind of result; small businesses like Arlene’s Flowers will be faced with lawsuits because of who they are and what they believe. Every state legislator who voted against the amendments to protect religious freedom and in support of the same-sex “marriage” bill is complicit as well.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: A Republican-dominated coalition in the state Senate has blocked discussion on a plan to require insurers to cover abortion.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: Stutzman’s lawyer is J.D. Bristoll, an attorney allied with the Alliance Defending Freedom, the national law firm representing California’s Prop 8 before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bristoll explains this is not about homosexuality, since the shop serves gay customers all the time. It is instead specifically objecting to homosexual marriage on religious grounds and declining to take part in one.
This case goes to the absolute core of religious liberty, asking whether the government can compel a sincere Christian believer to violate her religious conscience, and it could make new law.

Think Progress: The suit asks for a permanent injunction against future discrimination and a $2,000 fine for every violation. An employee at Arlene’s told KEPR-TV that “none of us will have any comment.” Stuzman’s attorney’s warned Ferguson that “a number of national non-profit organizations… are ready for a fight,” perhaps referring to groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which regularly defends individuals when it believes their “religious liberty” has been infringed upon.

Washington AG: Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced his office has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Wash. On March 1, 2013, Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, refused to provide wedding flowers to long-time customer, Robert Ingersoll, based on her opposition to same-sex marriage.

Townhall: Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Michael Norton, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which publicized the suit. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.” ADF filed the suit on behalf of Jonathan Bloedow, a Washington resident who uncovered the alleged fraud through open records requests with the state. By law, such suits must be sealed until the federal government decides to join the case, according to ADF.

LifeNews: A Washington Republican state lawmaker is standing tall and single-handedly thwarting a bill in the state legislature that would force insurance companies to pay for abortions.

Chicago Tribune: Kirk’s decision brings to 50 the number of U.S. senators who support gay marriage, including 46 Democrats, two independents and two Republicans, according to Charlie Joughin, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

The Spokesman Review: A Republican state senator is blocking legislation that would require health insurance companies to cover abortion, denying a vote on a bill even though a majority of Washington senators expressed support.

Seattle Times: State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, says a House bill requiring health-insurance plans to cover abortions has the 25 votes needed to pass the Senate. He released a letter Monday with the signatures of 25 senators, as a hearing was being held in the Senate on House Bill 1044. The legislation passed the House 53-43 in February.

Christian Institute: An American city has removed the word “Easter” from its Easter egg hunt in an attempt to “welcome all citizens to our events, regardless of faith”.

The Eastern Echo: David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the ADF, said in the release, “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations, but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely on its viewpoint.”

Faith and Freedom Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Michael J. Norton, a former US Attorney says, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard earned tax money is being funneled to groups who are misusing it.”

Family Research Council: ADF Senior Counsel Michael Norton said, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it.” Regardless of how policymakers feel about abortion, they should all agree that Planned Parenthood should be held to the same standards as everyone else who takes government funds. If Planned Parenthood can’t be trusted with the money it already has, why should Congress agree to more?

The New American: ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney, said it is high time the American people get some clear answers on Planned Parenthood funding. “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” Norton said. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

LifeSiteNews: Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long,” said Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney. “It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

The Columbian: Clark County commissioners will allow members of the community to pray before county meetings. There are still some logistics to be worked out, such as how the scheduling of the prayers will be undertaken by county staff, but an invocation period during the county’s public meetings has been created with a 2-1 vote supported by Commissioners David Madore and Tom Mielke.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys file third lawsuit to expose abortion giant’s mishandling of taxpayer dollars

Christian Post: Where is tolerance? Where is diversity? Where is equality? If you live in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, or Massachusetts and have a child who experiences unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA), soon you may not find tolerance, diversity, or equality there. That’s because activists in these states are carefully working with sympathetic members of their state legislatures to take away your parental rights and your child’s ability to receive treatment for unwanted homosexual feelings.

Brett Harvey at Townhall: In 1992, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of public prayer. Justice Anthony Kennedy warned that when the government dictates that public prayers must be generic or avoid references that are unique to any particular faith, like referencing Jesus, it is constitutionally problematic.

Todd Starnes at Townhall: “We need to be able to speak Jesus’ name,” he told The Daily News. “They’re asking us not to do what we’re called to do. This is the one and only true God. We’re not trying to be against anybody – we’re just being clear about what we’re for.

Seattle Times: Struggling to respond to a state Supreme Court order to put more money into education, some state Senate Republicans on Wednesday came up with a way to save a bit of money: reduce the size of the court. Senate Bill 5867, introduced Wednesday morning, would reduce the court from nine members to five (the minimum allowed in the state constitution).

TDN.com: In response to a citizen complaint, Mayor Don Jensen told the Kelso-Longview Ministerial Association last month it was “not acceptable” to invoke the name of Jesus Christ during the prayer because it could expose the city to a lawsuit.

Huffington Post: New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley plan to file a friend-of-the-court brief on Friday, their offices said. Officials in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, will join the amicus brief.

David Hacker at Speak Up Movement: Most people think student fees pay things like services in the student union, the gym, and occasional funding of student groups conducting a service project. But universities have turned these mandatory fees in campus slush funds for the left . . . What can you do? It’s unlikely mandatory student fees will go away anytime soon. But the best answer to bad speech is good speech. If you’re part of a student group on campus, apply to get student fees for your own events that promote decency and respect life.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Setting up what promises to be a contentious reckoning in the Washington state Senate, the House on Friday passed a measure requiring that most insurance carriers in the state cover abortions. House Bill 1044 is intended to ensure that insurers continue covering abortions once bureaucratic hurdles for doing so come into effect next year with the enactment of federal health care reforms. Lawmakers in the House passed the measure by a vote of 53-43, with all but two Democratic votes cast in favor and all but one Republican voting against it.

TheNewsTribune.com: A hearing on a bill that would require minors to notify their parents before terminating a pregnancy pitted those who argued it was an issue of parental rights against those who say the measure is an effort to restrict access to abortion.

AP: In Washington state, dairymen, freshmen and even penmanship could soon be things of the past.

Seattle Times: Advocates on both sides of the abortion issue packed a Washington state House hearing to debate a measure requiring insurers to pay for abortions, in addition to the maternity care they’re already mandated to provide.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Democratic state lawmakers are renewing a push that fell short a year ago that would require Washington insurers to pay for abortions, in addition to the maternity care they’re already mandated to provide.

Kent Reporter: A bill introduced on Monday (Jan. 21) by Sen. Don Benton (R-17th District, Vancouver), who spoke at the rally the following day, would require abortion providers to notify a parent or legal guardian 48 hours before performing such procedure on a minor. Senate Bill 5156, known as the Parental Notification of Abortion Act, allows exceptions for incest if a court order is obtained. The notification requirement is also waived if there is a medical emergency.

Yakima Herald: A state Senate bill that would require any girl younger than 18 to notify her parent or guardian before having an abortion will soon get a hearing.

Columbian.com: Washington’s amended marriage law exempts pastors, rabbis, Imams and other clergy from having to perform same-sex weddings if they aren’t so moved. But for judges, justices and some court commissioners, who are also authorized to marry people in this state, the law is much less clear.

Freedom from Religion Foundation: It is our understanding that Sanne, Pastor of the Calvary Chapel in Olympia, gave an invocation addressed to his “Heavenly Father,” asking the “Lord, [to] bring us back into line with the timeless truths and wisdom of Your Word [the Bible].” Sanne asked his god to “lead us to a blessing, being one nation, under You.” Sanne also took the opportunity to lobby the Senate to overturn the gay marriage bill and referendum, by inviting his deity to “strengthen marriage as You’ve ordained it for our good and Your Glory.” Sanne concluded: “We openly and humbly ask these things in the name of Your Son the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.”

LifeNews: The following article was written by Seattle lawyer, Margaret Dore and published on December 31 on the Missoulian website under the title: Oregon, Washington assisted suicide laws include no protections for patients. Margaret Dore indicated that she had titled the article: Assisted suicide in Washington and Oregon: A recipe for elder abuse and cloaked in secrecy.

Religion Clause Blog: In Ockletree v. Franciscan Health System, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175515 (WD WA, Dec. 11, 2012), a Washington federal district court certified to the Washington Supreme Court the question of whether the broad blanket exemption in the Washington Law Against Discrimination for non-profit religious organizations is constitutional under the Washington state constitution.

Seattle Times: Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples took advantage of Washington’s new same-sex marriage law on Thursday, getting marriage licenses on a historic day filled with celebration.

Eugene Kontorovich at the Volokh Conspiracy: The Bestiality Brief “The man-bites-dog story of Germany legalizing then banning bestiality raises the question of the constitutionality of such laws in the U.S. Most states criminalize zoophilia, and in many places the bans …

Carrie Severino at National Review: My organization, the Judicial Education Project, in conjunction with two leading Jewish Orthodox Groups, Agudath Israel of America and the National Council of Young Israel, has filed an amicus curiae brief in a Becket Fund case, Stormans Inc. v. Mary Selecky, et al., defending conscience rights for pharmacies and pharmacists.

Seattle Times: The Washington state Health Department will be changing marriage and divorce certificates in response to the same-sex marriage law that takes effect Dec. 6.

Seattle Times: With the state’s same-sex-marriage law about to go into effect, gay couples are raising a number of questions — some straightforward, others more complicated. Here are some . . .

One News Now: “No American should be forced to give up a constitutionally protected freedom, much less sacrifice their job in order to maintain that freedom,” Nimocks contends. “Religious freedom is important to every American, and that includes those who issue marriage licenses. It’s important that we as a society embrace the idea that they can do their job without having to violate their conscience.”

Salon: “No American should be forced to give up a constitutionally protected freedom, nor should any American be forced to give up his or her job to maintain that freedom,” said ADF Senior Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “Religious freedom is paramount to every American, including those issuing marriage licenses. They can perform their job without violating their conscience.”