The Supreme Court's decision on 6/25/2018 said that the Washington State court must reconsider its ruling in Arlene’s Flowers—the case of the florist, Barronelle Stutzman, who had declined to make custom arrangements for a same-sex wedding.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled in Masterpiece Cakeshop versus Colorado Civil Rights Commission that the baker was unfairly treated and the Commission was openly hostile to Christian beliefs.
Now, the Supreme Court has vacated and remanded the Barronelle’s case to reconsider in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision. What does that mean? Vacated means that the Supreme Court has voided the prior decision from Washington State court against Barronelle. Remanded means that the Supreme Court has sent back the case to Washington to hear and decide again. But now Washington State has a very specific instruction—the Supreme Court said that Washington State must decide again IN LIGHT OF the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision.
According to Michael Farris, CEO and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, the organization representing Barronelle, this decision today shows that the Masterpiece case does have precedent effect on other similar cases and was not limited to just the facts of the baker’s case. Any government agent—not just the Colorado Commission—cannot be openly hostile against a person’s sincerely held religious beliefs.
This is great news for Barronelle and for every Christian in America. The Constitution protects our right and the right of every individual to freely exercise our faith in society.
- Jenna Ellis, Esq.
Director of Public Policy
Dr. James Dobson Family Institute
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To learn more about Barronelle’s case, go to ADFLegal.org.
Dr. James Dobson Family Institute Website: https://www.dobsonfamilyinstitute.com/policy/
Follow Jenna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennaEllisJDFI
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