Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal by a florist who refused floral arrangements for gay couple’s wedding

The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal by a florist fined by Washington state for refusing to make a flower arrangement for a gay couple’s wedding due to her Christian beliefs.  She was fined $1,000 for violating an anti-discrimination law and was directed to make floral arrangements for same-sex weddings if she does the same for opposite-sex weddings.

The Supreme Court considered a separate religious rights case involving a Catholic Church-affiliated agency that sued after the city of Philadelphia refused to send children for foster care with the organization because it barred same-sex couples from being foster parents. The court ruled on June 17 in favor of Catholic Social Services but left various legal questions unsolved.