Post by Logan on May 4, 2016 1:28:12 GMT -6
A federal lawsuit claiming the city of Coeur d’Alene infringed on the religious rights of a small wedding chapel has ended with the city paying the owners of the business $1,000.01.
Donald and Evelyn Knapp, the ministers who own the Hitching Post next to the Kootenai County Courthouse, sued to challenge a city ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Once same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho, the Knapps said they would not perform those wedding ceremonies, but they argued their refusal would subject them to penalty under the nondiscrimination ordinance.
The city did not enforce penalties against the Knapps and told the couple the ordinance exempts them because of their religious affiliation. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal rights organization representing the Knapps free of charge, pushed ahead with the suit.
In March a federal judge allowed the suit to proceed but severely limited the scope, saying the Knapps could seek damages for just one day they voluntarily shut down – the day same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho in October 2014.
Read more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/03/coeur-dalene-wedding-chapel-suit-ends-in-1000-judg/
Donald and Evelyn Knapp, the ministers who own the Hitching Post next to the Kootenai County Courthouse, sued to challenge a city ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Once same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho, the Knapps said they would not perform those wedding ceremonies, but they argued their refusal would subject them to penalty under the nondiscrimination ordinance.
The city did not enforce penalties against the Knapps and told the couple the ordinance exempts them because of their religious affiliation. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal rights organization representing the Knapps free of charge, pushed ahead with the suit.
In March a federal judge allowed the suit to proceed but severely limited the scope, saying the Knapps could seek damages for just one day they voluntarily shut down – the day same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho in October 2014.
Read more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/03/coeur-dalene-wedding-chapel-suit-ends-in-1000-judg/