Tag: religious freedom laws

Utah ranks second in the nation in its citizens’ support for LGBTQ non-discrimination protections, according to a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). The PRRI poll found that 77 percent of Utah residents either favor or strongly favor “laws that would protect (LGBT) people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing.” The state tied with Vermont and was beaten only by New Hampshire whose residents support such protections by 81 percent. This may seem especially surprising considering Utah’s largely...

When St. Louis residents Tiffany Allen and Angel Lane contacted the New York-based company, D. AUXILLY, to inquire about purchasing custom made wedding outfits, they didn’t think they’d get the shocking answer they did from owner Dominique Galbraith. Galbraith refused to serve the woman and instead offered to convert them to Christianity. “I wouldn’t be able to make a piece for a same-sex wedding. It goes against my faith in Christ, Galbraith wrote in an email to the couple. “I believe Jesus died...

When Bryn Esplin and Fatma Marouf heard about the wretched conditions at the Trump administration’s concentration camps for children, they knew they had enough love to share. They approached a local child welfare agency and offered to foster refugee children, but were turned away for the most insulting reason possible. The Catholic-run agency told them that their marriage isn’t “holy” and refused to work with them to help get children out of the overcrowded government centers where some are kept...

After Indy Pride explicitly said he wasn’t welcome to march, Republican Indianapolis mayoral candidate Jim Merritt has announced that he won’t participate in today’s Pride event and voiced regret for supporting Indiana’s controversial 2015 religious freedom bill. He also pledged to fight for LGBTQ rights if elected. In a statement, Merritt said: “(Walking in the parade) was meant to show that I respect the feelings and rights of the LGBTQ+ community and desire to engage in dialogue with them and to...

A lesbian couple says a restaurant in O’Fallon, Missouri refused to host their wedding rehearsal dinner upon learning that the soon-to-be-spouses are both women. Mindy Rackley and Kendall Brown had planned on holding their rehearsal dinner at Madison’s Café — a restaurant that serves, pasta, sandwiches and dessert — because it had been the favorite restaurant of Rackley’s father before he died tw0-and-a-half years ago. However, the restaurant wasn’t welcoming. Brown told Newsweek, “My mom had made the reservations for us...