Kentucky Business Refuses to Sell Gay Pride Shirts
LEXINGTON, Ky., April 28 (UPI) — Lexington’s Gay and Lesbian Services Organization tried to purchase the shirts for a gay pride festival from the printer Hands on Originals. Blythe Adamson refused the 2012 order because the shirt had “Lexington Pride Festival” and had a list of sponsors on the back. Adamson claimed the message conflicted with her and the company’s beliefs.
The GLSO complained to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, which ruled a business can’t discriminate based on sexual orientation.
GLSO Response to Ruling in Hands on Original Discrimination Case http://t.co/mq4TMXjiEj— GLSO (@LexGLSO) April 27, 2015
The case went to Fayette County Circuit Court, where Judge James Ishmael overturned the ruling on the commission. He stated the decision of the business was not in regards to the customer’s sexual orientation, but of the message the shirt conveyed.
Martin Cothran, spokesman for The Family Foundation of Kentucky, praised the ruling as a protection of the owner’s religious freedom.
“We are pleased to see some courts are still acknowledging the First Amendment’s right to religious freedom. And that the ‘PC police’ are not quite powerful enough to convince courts that it doesn’t exist.”
The ruling comes after laws such as the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act in Indiana have come under fire for enabling establishments to refuse service based on a customer’s sexual orientation under the guise of religious freedom.
The GLSO expressed its disappointment in the ruling in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
The GLSO is disappointed at Judge Ishmael’s ruling. We feel that this is a reminder that there are still many out there who feel that their citizenship is worth more than that of members of the LGBTQ+ community. This is merely another battle on what has been a long road to full equality for the LGBTQ+ community; which, despite this decision, has been trending toward equality for all. We will discuss this ruling with the Lexington Human Rights Commission and our lawyers, and make a decision on how we will choose to proceed going forward.
Copyright 2015 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
All rights reserved.
