Robert Ingersoll and his partner, Curt Freed, were longtime customers of Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in Richland, Wash. After voters in the state approved same-sex marriage in December 2012, Messrs. Ingersoll and Freed decided to tie the knot, and called their florist. “There was never a question she’d be the one to do our flowers,” Mr. Ingersoll told the Tri-City Herald. But Ms. Stutzman declined, citing her Christian beliefs about marriage.<\/p>\n
“You have to make a stand somewhere in your life on what you believe and what you don’t believe,” Ms. Stutzman told Christian Broadcasting Network. For acting on her religious beliefs, Ms. Stutzman has been sued twice: once by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and once by the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Voters were assured that legalizing gay marriage wouldn’t undermine religious freedom\u201d\u201dafter all, the public was assured that religious institutions would be free to act as they always had. But what about religious individuals? The effects of this new legal regime on private citizens have largely been ignored.<\/p>\n