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Christian couple fined $13,000 for refusing to host lesbian wedding on their farm
Monday, November 10, 2014 16:22
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Christian couple fined $13,000 for refusing to host lesbian wedding on their farm
· Cynthia and Robert Gifford told Melisa and Jennifer McCarthy in 2012 that they could not get married at their farm in Schaghticoke, New York
· The McCarthys recorded the phone call and filed a formal complaint with the state Division of Human Rights in 2012
· This summer, the Giffords were ordered to pay $13,000 but they are now appealing the decision
· In New York, clergy and religious institutions can refuse to host same-sex marriages but businesses that serve the public can not
A devout Christian couple has been fined $13,000 for refusing to host a lesbian wedding at the farm where they live and work.
Cynthia and Robert Gifford have been battling Melisa and Jennifer McCarthy ever since the women contacted them in 2012 asking to get married at Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke, New York.
In August, an administrative-law judge ruled that the Giffords had violated state law by discriminating against the couple and ordered them to pay the fines.
New York law exempts some religious-oriented institutions from having to accommodate same-sex weddings, but a business that serves the public is in violation of the state’s human rights law if it discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
Scroll down for video
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Fined: Cynthia and Robert Gifford, pictured, have been fined $13,000 for refusing to hold a gay wedding at their upstate New York farm, even though religious institutions in the state can legally refuse to hold them
It means that the penalties against the business owners come even though clergymen and women in New York are allowed to opt out of marrying same sex couples, the New York Post reported.
‘We respect and care for everyone!’ Cynthia Gifford, 54, told the Post. ‘We had an openly gay man working for us this past season. We’ve had a woman who’s transitioning to be a man. We don’t discriminate against anyone.’
Still, when Melisa McCarthy – then Melisa Erwin – contacted Mrs Gifford in 2012 and asked to have their summer 2013 wedding at the farm, she said no.
‘When we asked why it was just, “That’s what my husband and I decided. We’ve been married a long time and it’s great you’re getting married and all, but you can’t do it here”,’ McCarthy told WNYT at the time.
Video courtesy Minnesota Family Council
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Hurt: Jennie and Melissa McCarthy recorded the conversation in which the Giffords turned down their wedding party and filed a formal complaint with the state. Earlier this summer, they received compensation
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Speaking out: The couple, who married at a different venue in 2013, were devastated, their lawyer said
Gifford was unaware that Jennifer McCarthy had recorded the conversation and the same-sex couple, now both 31, filed a formal complaint with the state Division of Human Rights.
After the case became public, the farm suffered a backlash and they have been forced to lose some employees due to financial hardship, the Post reported.
Angry messages posted on the venue’s Facebook page at the time suggested the McCarthys were not the only gay couple to have been denied access.
‘Apparently if you are a same sex couple, you are not welcome as this place discriminates,’ wrote one user, Denine Dorniak. ‘Gay dollars are just as green as straight dollars.’
The Giffords were eventually ordered to pay $10,000 to the state and $1,500 to each of the brides for their mental anguish.
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Turned away: The couple have been hosting events at Liberty Ridge Farm, pictured, for 15 years
The couple eventually got married at another venue and live in upstate New York.
‘They were devastated when they heard that Liberty Ridge Farm would not take their business because of who they are,’ said their lawyer, Mariko Hirose, of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The Giffords live at the farm with their 17-year-old daughter and 21-year-old son and have hosted an annual fall event there – including a maize maze and pumpkin patches – for 15 years.
‘We’ve gone from tolerance to compulsion,’ the Giffords’ lawyer, James Trainor, told the Post.
‘State government should not be forcing people to violate their own religious beliefs, nor should they be forced to make a choice between making a living and violating their own faith.’
Trainor has now filed an appeal with the state Appellate Division on behalf of the Giffords.
Source: http://nesaranews.blogspot.com/2014/11/christian-couple-fined-13000-for.html
