Court: N.Y. Farm Owners Discriminated Against Lesbian Couple

A New York court last week ruled that the owners of a farm used as a wedding venue violated the state's nondiscrimination law when they turned away a lesbian couple seeking to hold their wedding ceremony there.

Robert and Cynthia Gifford, the owners of Liberty Ridge Farm, north of Albany, claimed their conservative Christian beliefs opposing same-sex marriage were justification for refusing to host the 2013 wedding of Melisa and Jennie McCarthy. The Giffords appealed an initial ruling from the state's Division of Human Rights that found them guilty of discrimination and fined them $13,000, reports KSN.com. They have claimed that being forced to host the wedding violated their First Amendment rights.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court found unanimously in a 5-0 decision that, although the Giffords are free to express their religious beliefs, their rights were not being violated by offering up their farm as a place of public business. Thus, they cannot violate New York's state law prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination.

"While we recognize that the burden placed on the Giffords' right to freely exercise their religion is not inconsequential, it cannot be overlooked that SDHR's determination does not require them to participate in the marriage of a same-sex couple," Judge Karen Peters said, writing for the court. "Indeed, the Giffords are free to adhere to and profess their religious beliefs that same-sex couples should not marry, but they must permit same-sex couples to marry on the premises if they choose to allow opposite-sex couples to do so.

"To be weighed against the Giffords' interests in adhering to the tenets of their faith is New York's long-recognized, substantial interest in eradicating discrimination," Peters continued in the opinion. "...Balancing these competing interests, we conclude that petitioners failed to show that SDHR's determination constituted an unreasonable interference with the Giffords' religious freedom."

The Giffords were defended by attorneys from the conservative legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, who had argued that the government had overstepped its bounds by forcing the Giffords and other like-minded people to allow same-sex ceremonies on their property. Alliance Defending Freedom also argues that Cynthia Gifford told Melisa McCarthy that the Giffords don't host and coordinate same-sex ceremonies at Liberty Ridge, but left open an invitation to visit the farm to consider it as a potential reception site. The New York Supreme Court noted, in its opinion, that Cynthia Gifford never made such a distinction until the case was being litigated.

"All Americans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs, especially in our own backyards," Caleb Dalton, chief legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. "The government went after both this couple's freedom and their ability to make a living simply for adhering to their faith on their own property. The court should have rejected this unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion, so we will consult with our client regarding appeal."

The McCarthys were represented by lawyers affiliated with the New York Civil Liberties Union, a state branch of the ACLU. Following the court's decision, the organization praised the state Supreme Court for upholding the provisions of the nondiscrimination law.

"New York chose to guarantee a society where lunch counters would serve black and white customers and businesses would not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and all of us benefit from these protections," Mariko Hirose, a senior staff attorney at the NYCLU and the lead counsel on the case, said in a statement. "We're glad the court upheld longstanding laws against discrimination, and we're proud of the McCarthys for standing up for equal treatment of all New Yorkers."