Ky. Corporation Does Not Have ‘Religious Freedom’ Right To Discriminate, Says Americans United

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Hands On Originals Should Have Made T-Shirts For Gay-Pride Event

Hands On Originals, Inc., does not have a free-speech or free-exercise right to violate Lexington-Fayette Urban County, Ky., anti-discrimination laws, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed yesterday with the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals, Americans United said Hands On Originals cannot use the religious beliefs of its owner as legal cover for refusing to make T-shirts for a gay-pride event.

“Lexington-Fayette Urban County’s anti-discrimination law means no one has the right to treat LGBT people as second-class citizens,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Hands On Originals does not get a special exemption from this regulation simply because of its owner’s religious convictions.”

The Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) had asked Hands on Originals to make shirts commemorating the 2012 Lexington Pride Festival, but the company’s owner, Blaine Adamson, refused – citing his religious beliefs. Since Lexington-Fayette Urban County prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, GLSO made a successful complaint against the company with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Human Rights Commission. But the Fayette County Circuit Court overturned that ruling earlier this year.

Hands On Originals has claimed that its products are “artistic” in nature and therefore the company should not be forced to print shirts containing customers’ messages with which it does not agree. In its brief, Americans United explains that if that argument succeeds, it could be used to justify virtually any refusal of service.

“Accepting the arguments made by Hands On Originals in this case would not only put Kentucky courts in conflict with First Amendment decisions from across the country, but also would allow nearly any business alleging that its provision of goods or services is expressive to discriminate as it pleased,” the brief asserts. “Gay men, lesbians, and members of other protected classes (and their children) would not know which businesses they could patronize and could not expect the law to protect their rights of access to public accommodations.”

This brief was filed in conjunction with Americans United’s Protect Thy Neighbor project, an initiative launched this year that seeks to ensure no one uses religion as an excuse to discriminate against others.

“We’ve been down this road before,” said AU Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper. “In the 1960s, courts ruled against business owners who tried to use their religious beliefs as an excuse to discriminate on the basis of race. The outcome should be no different when it comes to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation: The religious beliefs of business owners don’t give them a right to treat LGBT people as second-class citizens.”

The brief for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission v. Hands On Originals, Inc. was prepared by Lipper, AU Legal Director Richard B. Katskee, and AU Madison Fellow Carmen Green. (Green is admitted in Virginia only, and is supervised by Katskee, a member of the D.C. Bar.) David Tachau and Katherine E. McKune from the Kentucky law firm of Tachau Meek PLC served as co-counsel.

Colo. County Official Has No Right To Post Religious Sign Attacking MArriage Equality At Government Office, Says Americans United

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Elbert County Clerk Is Clearly Trying To Express Disapproval Of Same-Sex Couples

Elbert County Clerk Dallas Schroeder must remove a poster with a biblical passage disparaging the marriages of same-sex couples from his government office, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Schroeder’s office is responsible for issuing marriage licenses, and it’s clear that the clerk put up the poster to express disapproval of same-sex unions, the organization asserts.

The poster depicts an image of a bride and a groom accompanied by a verse from the first Book of Corinthians that reads, “…each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”

“Schroeder’s job is to issue marriage licenses to every legally qualified couple without bringing his moral disapproval into matters,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “If he’s unable to do that, he needs to resign.”

Although Schroeder claims that the sign merely celebrates marriage, an email sent to other county clerks in the state last year has surfaced in which Schroeder wrote, “My thought process is that they have to see the poster. And if they choose to violate God’s written Word, then that is on their head.”

Americans United’s letter says the poster represents numerous constitutional problems, including a violation of the First Amendment.

“By posting a religious display at the County Clerk’s office to condemn the marriages of same-sex couples – in a manner intended to be viewed by couples as they visit the office to obtain their marriage licenses – the County is violating the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as… the First Amendment,” the letter reads.

This action is part of Americans United’s new project, Protect Thy Neighbor, which seeks to stop religion-based discrimination against LGBT persons and others. Americans United has previously sent a memo to all 50 state attorneys general, and to many county clerks, reminding them that religious freedom does not give government officials the right to deny equal treatment to same-sex couples.

“Although he’s apparently more creative than Roy Moore and Kim Davis, the Elbert County Clerk is acting unlawfully all the same,” said AU Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper. “Just as the county clerk may not disparage interracial couples when they obtain their marriage licenses, he may not demean same-sex couples seeking the same government benefit.”

Elbert County residents who are seeking marriage licenses and object to the anti-gay poster may contact American United’s legal department, at legal@protectthyneighbor.org.

The letter asks for a response within 14 days. It was written by Lipper, AU Legal Director Richard B. Katskee and Legal Fellow John McGinnis.