Washington state florist who denied service for same-sex wedding gets aid

A crowdfunding campaign has raised more than $85,000 to help Washington state florist Barronelle Stutzman, above, who refused to sell a same-sex couple wedding flowers. (Kai-Huei Yau/The Tri-City Herald via AP)

A florist in Washington state who was fined $1,000 for refusing to sell a same-sex couple wedding flowers and is facing a consumer-protection lawsuit filed by the state has netted more than $85,000 in a crowdfunding campaign.

The Seattle Times reported that nearly half of the money on the GoFundMe.com page set up in late February for Barronelle Stutzman, 70, has been raised in the past several days.

Supporters compare Stutzman’s benefit page to an Indiana pizza shop that raised more than $800,000 after closing when a co-owner expressed support for the state’s new religious objections law to protect private business owners. The co-owner said the shop wouldn’t cater a same-sex wedding.

But Indiana legislators, facing mounting pressure, tweaked the law late last week to address concerns that it would allow discrimination against gays.

The Washington state law, Attorney General Bob Ferguson has said, “clearly prohibits discrimination against same-sex couples.”