Christian Print Shop Wins Case, Won’t Be Forced to Create Gay Pride Shirt
A Christian-owned print shop that was sued after declining to create T-shirts promoting a Lexington, Ky., gay pride festival won again in court Thursday.
Hands On Originals, whose owner, Blaine Adamson, is a devout Christians, was asked in 2012 by the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) to create T-shirts for the Lexington (Ky.) Pride Festival with rainbow-colored circles.
When Adamson said he could not print the shirts due to his religious beliefs – he offered to connect the group with a different printer – the organization filed a complaint with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, claiming discrimination based on sexual orientation/gender identity. Although the commission sided with GLSO, Adamson won at the lower court and then at the appeals court.
On Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court handed Adamson another victory by ruling the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization lacked standing to bring the case. The ordinance in question protects individuals, but not groups, the justices ruled.
