On Thursday, we reported that a Washington state judge had ruled against Barronelle Stuzman, the Richland florist who in 2013 refused to provide flowers for a longtime customer's wedding to his same-sex partner because of her "relationship with Jesus Christ."
Stuzman was found to be in violation of the state's anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Following the ruling, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson provided Stuzman with a settlement offer, but Stuzman refused.
Stuzman, it seems, was always planning on taking the anti-gay martyr route.
“Before this case began, my office wrote to Ms. Stutzman, asking her to comply with state law," said Ferguson. "Had she agreed to no longer discriminate, my office would not have filed suit, and Ms. Stutzman would not have paid any costs, fees or penalties."
The Washington Post reports:
On Friday, Stutzman told Ferguson in a letter released through her attorneys that the state’s settlement offer of a $2,000 penalty, a $1 payment for court and legal fees, and an agreement “not to discriminate in the future,” was akin to Judas’s betrayal of Jesus in the Bible. “You are asking me to walk in the way of a well-known betrayer, one who sold something of infinite worth for 30 pieces of silver,” she wrote, adding, “that is something I will not do.”
“Your offer reveals that you don’t really understand me or what this conflict is all about,” she added. “It’s about freedom, not money.”
Stutzman’s attorney said that she’ll be appealing the ruling.
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