Slog plumbs the depths of florist Baronelle Stutzman's Christian arrogance, evasions and self-serving lie about being forced to 'particpate' in gay wedding

First Dominic Holden, in a post for The Slog, busts Stutzman's attempt to nail herself to the cross by characterizing selling flowers to a gay couple as being roped into being a  "participant in their wedding."

     "I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman," Stutzman explained. "If they choose to get married, that's fine, if that is what they believe. I just choose not to be a participant in the wedding."
     But Freed [the longtime customer and would be wedding flowers buyer], 43, points out that the owner was never asked to "participate" in a wedding she disagrees with—just sell them flowers. "We had no intentions of sending her an invitation to our wedding. We don't want her to walk us down the aisle," he says.

Then comes the arrogance:

Asked if she thinks she broke the law, Stutzman replied, "Well I guess we will find that out, won't we." Still, it's unclear if Stutzman will even have to defend herself in court...

Then come the dismissive evasions:

I asked Stutzman how she legally justified her actions as different from, say, a lunch counter denying service to African Americans. "We aren't even going to get into that," she said. Since her objection is religious, I asked if biblical denouncements of other activities also influence which weddings she would work for. Would she provide flowers to a wedding serving shellfish, which the Book of Leviticus considers an abomination? "I think that is a ridiculous question," she said.

Then comes the preposterous contradiction, summarized by a commenter as "We love taking his money. For a sub-human, he's great. "

 "We've done business with him for years," the flower shop owner says, and "he is just an awesome guy."

NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |