Mennonite Couple Fined for Refusal to Host Gay Weddings Close Business
The Christian owners of a flower shop, restaurant and wedding venue in Grimes, Iowa, who faced a contentious legal battle following their refusal to host a gay couples’ ceremony, are closing up shop, and issuing a warning to wedding-related business owners: that they, too, could soon face the same challenges.
Despite their business misfortune, there’s an ironic twist: The chapel’s current building will likely become home to a church — a development that Betty and Dick Odgaard, owners of Görtz Haus Gallery, are welcoming.
“This happened to us and if you are in the wedding business it will happen to you — it’s just a matter of when,” she said. “If our justice system doesn’t put something in place soon it will become increasingly difficult for Christians to be in business and stay true to the gospel and God’s laws.”
Odgaard continued, “This should not be happening in America when our religious...