Farm Owners Fined For Refusing to Host Lesbian Wedding

New York state farm owners Cynthia and Robert Gifford were fined $13,000 after they refused to host a lesbian wedding, according to The Washington Times.

Liberty Ridge Farm, located near Albany, N.Y., has accommodated many couples, but Cynthia Gifford, a Christian woman, would not allow the union of Jennifer McCarthy and Melisa Erwin to take place on her property.

The Giffords typically host weddings on the first floor of their home, and when McCarthy and Erwin asked to use the facility for their 2012 wedding, the request was denied.

Cynthia Gifford stated that she would only allow the reception to be held on the farm, claiming that the marriage ceremony would "literally hit too close to home," the Washington Times reported.

Because the Giffords' property is deemed as a public location, their home is subject to New York's anti-discrimination laws. New York City Administrative Law Judge Migdalia Pares ruled that the couple must now pay $13,000 in fines and restitution.

"The fact that the Giffords also reside at Gifford Barn does not render it private," said Pares.

The Giffords are considering whether or not they should pursue further legal action, according to James Trainor, the couple's lawyer.

"Liberty Ridge Farm ... has employed gay people and has conducted events for same-sex couples," said Trainor. "The Giffords' objection was to hosting and participating in the wedding ceremony itself and not to providing service in general to lesbians."

This is not the first case involving a business that failed to provide services to members of the homosexual community - especially weddings.

A few months ago, a New Mexico photographer refused to take portraits of a same-sex couple who wanted to document their commitment celebration, claiming that the act of photography would "require them to create expression conveying messages that conflict with their religious beliefs," according to The Washington Post.

The more renowned anti-gay cases commonly involve bake shops who do not want to make wedding cakes for gay couples. Last month, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, the Oregon-based company that gained national attention in 2013 after it refused to create a cake for a lesbian wedding, issued a series of cakes to promote its new organization "Restored Hope," a group advocating gay-conversion therapy.

The aim is to "heal" gays with the hope that prayer, therapy and "treatment" can transform gay people into straight individuals,The Advocate reported.

Tags
Lesbian, Wedding, Gay
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