Christian florist aims for Supreme Court after losing appeal in gay wedding case

A Christian florist who refused to make floral arrangements for a gay wedding has lost her appeal at the Washington Supreme Court on Thursday. Her defense team is now looking to appeal her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene's Flowers, for violating the state's anti-discrimination law in 2013 when she refused to design floral arrangements for the wedding of Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed.

The ruling upholds a lower court decision that held the 72-year-old Stutzman personally liable, which puts her at risk of losing her home, personal property, savings and bank accounts to pay for damages, fines or attorneys' fees awarded against her.

Her attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have expressed their intentions to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to World.

In both trials of Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers, Stutzman's lawyers argued that the Washington Law Against Discrimination compelled her to make floral arrangements in violation of her religious liberty, freedom of association and free speech rights. However, in upholding the lower court decision, the Washington high court ruled that her creative efforts constituted "conduct" not "speech," and the law "protects patrons, not business owners."

Kristen Waggoner, senior counsel for the ADF, denounced the decision saying: "This case is about crushing dissent. In a free America, people with differing beliefs must have room to coexist."

The ADF stated that the decision marked "a decisive blow against fundamental freedoms: freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion."

Stutzman's lawyers argued that the florist never denied Ingersoll access to goods and services at her shop and even considered him a friend after selling him flowers for almost 10 years. She only refused when he asked her to design arrangements for his same-sex wedding, an event that violated her deeply held religious beliefs.

Stutzman said that Ingersoll being gay was never an issue for her, and she loved creating custom floral designs for him.

"[T]he state is trying to use this case to force me to create artistic expression that violates my deepest beliefs and take away my life's work and savings, which will also harm those who I employ," Stutzman said in an ADF press release, as reported by Baptist Press.

"I'm not asking for anything that our Constitution hasn't promised me and every other American: the right to create freely and to live out my faith without fear of government punishment or interference," she added.