Court Grants Christian T-shirt Printer Religious Freedom to Decline Pro-LGBT Orders

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: May 16, 2017

Court Grants Christian T-shirt Printer Religious Freedom to Decline Pro-LGBT Orders

The owner of a Christian t-shirt designer and printer recently won an appeals case after he objected to printing a pro-LGBT message on an order of t-shirts.

According to Christian Today, Blaine Adamson is the managing owner of Hands On Originals, a Lexington, Kentucky-based, Christian-run company that designs and prints messages on t-shirts for various events.

Adamson says he and his staff never refuse to do business with someone based on their personal beliefs, but he did feel compelled in 2012 to decline to print a message for a gay pride event because it went against his convictions. The Gay and Lesbian Services Organization promoting the event then filed a discrimination lawsuit against Adamson and his company.

Though they knew this legal action could follow, Adamson and his staff remained committed to trusting that God would honor their decision to stand by their convictions.

Hands On Originals’ case was taken up by Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF attorneys appealed the case to the Fayette Circuit Court, which overruled the original ruling against Adamson which was handed down by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission in 2014.

“Americans should always have the freedom to believe, the freedom to express those beliefs, and the freedom to not express ideas that would violate their conscience,” stated ADF Senior Counsel Jim Campbell. “'It is also a victory for all Americans because it reassures us all that, no matter what you believe, the law can't force you to express a message in conflict with your deepest convictions,” he continued.

 

Publication date: May 16, 2017



Court Grants Christian T-shirt Printer Religious Freedom to Decline Pro-LGBT Orders