RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A florist in eastern Washington state fined $1,000 for refusing to sell a same-sex couple wedding flowers and also facing a consumer-protection lawsuit has netted more than $85,000 in a crowdfunding campaign.
The Seattle Times reports (http://bit.ly/1GztB9a) that nearly half of the money on the gofundme.com page set up in February for 70-year-old Barronelle Stutzman came in the last several days.
Supporters compare Stutzman's benefit page to an Indiana pizza shop that raised more than $800,000 after closing when the owner said the shop wouldn't cater a gay wedding.
Stutzman says same-sex weddings go against her Southern Baptist beliefs.
Stutzman, owner of Arlene's Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, received the fine in Benton County Superior Court in March after refusing to serve a same-sex couple in 2013.