Conservatives raise over $80,000 for florist who turned away gay couple

[DonViejo]

Source: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

A flower shop in Washington state was fined $1,000 after it did not help a same-sex couple, but the fight apparently isn’t over. Although the business was found to be in violation of the state's Consumer Protection Act, it has been winning support -- in the form of donations -- from some members of the public.

The business, Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, has collected more than $80,000 through a GoFundMe.com online campaign from people who want to help protect the shop owner's “livelihood,” the Seattle Times reported Saturday. Although the campaign was launched in February, many donations did not arrive until after so-called Religious Freedom bills advanced in both Indiana and Arkansas last week. (After public outcry, both Indiana and Arkansas adjusted their bills to clarify that businesses would not be permitted to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. Indiana did so after its original bill became law, and Arkansas did so before its bill became law.)

“It’s about freedom, not money,” Baronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene's Flowers, wrote in a letter to Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my freedom to honor God in doing what I do best is more important.” Stutzman said she believes that serving gay couples goes against her Southern Baptist religious beliefs, the Associated Press added.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/conservatives-raise-over-80000-for-florist-who-turned-away-gay-couple/

---

How to become a millionaire!

[Historic NY]

1. pizza rates 800k

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

33. Well, duh! Pizza vs Flowers? No contest! nt

[blkmusclmachine]

2. The new scam.

Ka ching!

[davidpdx]

20. Well put

[7962]

3. I refuse to serve gays, whites, blacks & high school grads. I should be able to retire soon........

[rpannier]

5. I am boycotting your business. Soon you will go under

I will create a huge furor
You can go on Fox as the wounded martyr
I'll go on as the face of intollerance toward you
We'll split the money and it'll all be over until you write your tell-all book

"How I scammed the idiot right!" from your 30 room mansion in Costa Rica
Living off the proceeds from your book

[7962]

8. Thats actually a damn good idea.

Grow some dreadlocks, whether you're white or black, and one of those little mini-beards. That will make for good TV

You know, after the few times this has happened, i wouldnt doubt someone doing just what you described. Except maybe the book.

[onehandle]

4. The real silver lining of these funding stories is that this is $x less they will have to invest...

...in 2016.

Shoot your wad, Republicans. See you in 2020, dumbasses.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. big money funds campaigns of both parties

they don't give a squat about the donations from the average person

[bearssoapbox]

6. Jeebus. They can be thankful for gullible rubes.

?394

[Chicago1980]

7. It seems like being a bigot is better than winning the lottery at the moment.

Perhaps i should become a conservative, open a business, transform into a complete asshole and get some right-wing sap to open a GoFundMe account for me and just rake it in so that I can retire (sarc).

[Man from Pickens]

14. it's blowback from these targeted harassment campaigns

Dropping an Internet full of wrath on some nobody in Nowheresville creates a persecuted martyr.

You can't pummel someone into changing their opinion. All that happens is that opinion hardens.

[jmowreader]

17. It's not worth it, dude; you have a soul

[davidpdx]

21. Ha!

The bigot lottery. I'll cut you in half on the trademark.

[SoapBox]

9. Well I can only hope that they will incur a big fat fucking

Last edited Sun Apr 5, 2015, 11:57 PM - Edit history (1)

tax bill!

Weird that it pays to hate...we are on messed up society.

[ripcord]

11. I guess those bomb threats backfired.

A hateful person got a buttload of money because a bunch of idiots had to stoop to the republican tactics.

[Tom Ripley]

23. I saw nothing about any alleged "bomb threats"

[geomon666]

12. You can't prop them up forever fundiots.

Eventually every place that practices the business of bigotry will go down.

[Little Tich]

13. What if it was the other way around?

Let's say a florist shop is owned and run by family who has lost a son who died while serving in Iraq, was asked by the Westboro Baptist Church to provide flowers for a wedding of theirs. Perhaps there will even be a friendly demonstration with a “Your kids deserved to die, and now they burn in Hell!” theme at the wedding.

One could easily see how reluctant that family would be to serve those who think their kid deserved to die, and that they would object on conscientious grounds. One could also see how the law would make no exception.

This is just hypothetical, but what if the WBC actually did try to hurt people by forcing families and friends of veterans to provide services to them?

[jmowreader]

19. Now that could be FUN!

"Seriously officer, I have no idea at all how we delivered a wreath to Westboro made out of a hundred pounds of poison oak, lilies of the valley, oleander and poison hemlock."

[Bradical79]

30. choice vs. an inherent trait

Discriminating against homosexuals is more a kind to discriminating against black people. In 2015 we know that being homosexual in not a choice even if we do not know the exact mechanism. I don't see how actively discriminating against a minority group engaging in the same mundane social activity as the majority is equivalent to choosing to not serve the needs of a group's willfully hateful activity.

[Initech]

15. I refuse to do 3-D models for gay customers. Can I have $500,000 now please?

[jmowreader]

18. You know the best part of that particular scam?

Like Memories Pizza, who got $800,000 for refusing to cater gay weddings even though they don't cater weddings at all, you can get $500,000 for refusing to make 3-d models for gay customers even if you don't make 3-d models!

[arcane1]

27. A perfect gig for Joe the Non-Plumber!

[Vinca]

22. Calling all gay DUers. Please try to buy stuff from me on ebay.

Note to conservatives: I can make do with about $150,000.

[treestar]

24. Why do they think God doesn't want them doing business with gay people?

Where does the Bible say you can't do business with or even be friends with sinners? (even if you think that, wrongly of gay people).

[arcane1]

28. And why is "gay" the only sin they care about?

Answer: it's the only sin the tv and politicians tell them to hate.

[treestar]

34. Exactly. They need to refuse to deal with adulterers and thieves

and those who dishonor their father or mother or covet their neighbor's wife. Why aren't they figuring out who this is?

[hollowdweller]

29. Really. Your question is the one news organizations should ask.

I mean I can't see that in the bible that homosexuality is singled out for any sort of special hatred.

So do they refuse people living together who are not married??

If somebody is of another religion do they refuse them???

Are they closed on Sunday??

In the bible Jesus specifically says his flock are people who essentially love and help those who have done wrong or have made poor decisions in their life. Check out Matthew 25. Verse 31 thru 46.

Also in the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus uses someone of a difft religion as an example of conduct that he would endorse and a priest as someone who left the stranger w/o helping him.

In the bible there are numerous accounts of Jesus and his disciples helping or interacting with sinners and people of other religions so the whole theological basis for not waiting on gays seems really shakey to me. However I never really hear anybody in the news or clergy dispute it.

[treestar]

35. And what's really dumb is aren't they supposed to

try to make sure everyone is saved? How do they think people will be saved by being ignored and discriminated against and only by them? You'd think they'd want to be in contact with gay people if only to annoy them with proselytizing.

And it does follow that they should be wanting not to serve Jews or Muslims, or other Christians of the "wrong" denomination. I guess they pick on gays because they think that group of people is their last frontier. But society in general is getting more and more supportive of gay rights, not less.

It reminds me of how rabid they were after 911 - they thought they had a group of people they could freely discriminate against. Funny how they have to have someone to put down. They thought no one would object to anti-Muslim bigotry and prejudice.

[christx30]

36. They know that gay marriage is

a done deal. Nothing they can do to prevent it from happening. But they won't participate.

[treestar]

37. and the funny thing is, they aren't asked to participate

they have to search high and low for a chance to be "persecuted" on this subject. Like they might be in a business where they might have a service that a wedding would need.

[rladdi]

25. So sick, but this proves that the Republicans support discrimination in the states no

matter how loud they deny it. Republicans are racist and discriminate against minorities. We see it in all the bills they pass in the states.

[BlueCaliDem]

26. Bigotry is BIG BUCKS in these "United" States of America.

They should have been excoriated for their narrow-mindedness and stupidity. Instead, they get rewarded for it. SMH. Only in America...or should I say, only in 'Murica?

[heaven05]

31. division, major divisions are being exhibited

by americans along racial, sexual, social, religious and economic lines. Where this type of support(that pizza joint in indiana got 800,000+dollars just for saying they would deny service) and push back from sane, sensible, loving, caring human beings will end, only the shadow knows.....

[LeftishBrit]

32. If only they had raised that money to actually do some good!