Michigan City Punishes Christian for Refusing to Submit to Gay Agenda

Stephen Tennes is a loyal husband and father and a devoted man of the Catholic faith.  He has built a very successful orchard and farm business over many years which has a following, for the produce is said to be some of the best in the region.  His product is sold by on the farmland itself and also at a local farmer’s market where Tennes makes a very decent living.

As East Lansing local officials were perusing business Facebook accounts one day recently, they noticed some comments posted at his site that they were not very happy with and decided to notify him of such.  In fact, when they discovered that he had recently decided not to allow a gay wedding to take place on his orchard property, East Lansing officials sprang immediately to action, suspending his license to sell his produce at the very popular farmer’s market.

…[T]ennes says he was prohibited from selling his products after his business, Country Mill Farms, refused to host a lesbian couple’s wedding at its orchard in Charlotte, 22 miles outside the city and he stated on Facebook “his Catholic belief that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman.”

Country Mill Farms had sold fruit and produce at the market for six years, but after city officials learned about the Facebook post, they “strongly and immediately pressured us not to return to the farmers market,” Tennes told a news conference at the state Capitol.

According to the lawsuit, Country Mill is the only business to have been prohibited under the market’s anti-discrimination policy.

In a statement, the city of East Lansing said the farmer’s refusal to host a same-sex wedding violated a “long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court’s ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married.”

Interestingly, the “long-standing ordinance” was a law that had just been altered directly FOLLOWING their action against Tennes.  This was too much for the Christian farmer and he contacted a law group for assistance.

Stephen Tennes filed a lawsuit at a federal court on Wednesday (May 31), seeking his reinstatement.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian-based nonprofit legal organization representing Tennes, said his religious views have no bearing on his involvement at the market and said the city’s actions amounted to a First Amendment violation.

“Steve and his farm have been singled out and excluded from full participation in the life of the community for only one reason,” said ADF counsel Kate Anderson. “Steve expressed a viewpoint the city did not like.”

Flanked by supportive state lawmakers at the news conference, Tennes insisted his views on marriage had not prevented him from serving all farmers market customers equally.

“It’s our faith that informs us how to treat all who come to our farm and the farmers market with dignity and decency … serving customers of many races, religions, cultures and those who identify with the LBGT community,” he said.

This will be overturned and there is confidence in the legal community of such an opinion.  That being said, this is yet another example of the Leftist politically correct agenda propagandizing Christian beliefs as “intolerant” and “anti-gay,” always ensuring that the businesses chosen to be the targets are always Christian businesses.

There comes a point when you just have to ask, “How many times does this have to happen before a dishonest Leftist society finally confesses and admits that it is Christophobic and detests anything remotely to do with Christianity?”

The answer to that, of course, is that the Left will never admit that.  Which means that firms like The Alliance Defending Freedom has a lot of job security.

Source:  The Catholic Register