A same-sex couple planning to marry in January has called on people to peaceably protest a Washington state restaurant that refused to cater the nuptials while citing its owner’s religious Christian beliefs.
Meanwhile, the eatery is standing by its decision amid conflicting legal precedents that have resulted from such stands.
Rayah Calkins and her fiancee, Lillian Glover, were counting on the Centralia, Washington, restaurant JJ’s To Go to cater the lesbian women’s wedding to each other, as they told it to the local news outlet King. After a month of discussions over social media, Calkins and Glover met with the owner of JJ’s To Go, Jessica Britton, on Saturday to finalize arrangements. But Calkins and Glover said that Britton backed out of catering the pair’s wedding after learning that they were lesbians.
It was “a shock to me”, Calkins remarked to KING. “We’ve never received that blatant discrimination to our face.
As King prepared a statement about Britton’s treatment of the couple, she told the station that she believed a wedding was a “religious act between a man and a woman” – so she could not “participate” in Calkins and Glover’s wedding.
JJ’s To Go also published a statement on social media claiming to apologize to Calkins and Glover “for any inconvenience this has caused”.
“We stand by one thing only – the word of God … based on our faith in Jesus Christ,” the statement from the restaurant said.
The statement added: “Our decision to say no to this event is actually for your benefit. You should have someone catering your event that supports and can celebrate your union.” The restaurant also claimed to have received “threats” as well as “extremely sexually explicit messages” after their refusal to work with Calkins and Glover drew news coverage – and that “all people, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation are welcome to eat” at JJ’s.
In speaking to King, Calkins suggested Britton did not make her feel welcome.
“Telling you after they visually see you two together that that’s not something they can move forward with was – it’s something you just can’t really comprehend in the moment,” Calkins said to the station.
Calkins and Glover told King that they oppose any threats being leveled at Britton, her restaurant or its employees, but they said they would like to see “peaceful” protests – and that they intended to take legal action against JJ’s.
It remains to be seen how any such litigation could conclude. In 2013, as King noted, Washington state’s supreme court ruled that a florist who refused to provide flowers for a gay couple’s wedding violated an anti-discrimination law there. The US supreme court later upheld the ruling against the florist.
However, in June 2023, a US supreme court made more conservative by three appointees from Donald Trump’s first presidency struck down as unconstitutional a Colorado law that compelled entities to afford same-sex couples equal treatment. Trump won a second presidency after defeating Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election.
