Having been celebrating marriage equality for over a year now, it comes as quite a bit of shock that the state of New York has recently received two firsts against the same-sex marriage law. Not only has the legislation itself been challenged, but the first lawsuit has been filed against a venue that discriminated against a same-sex couple’s right to wed at their locale.
Melisa Erwin and Jennie McCarthy of Albany, N.Y., have filed a discrimination complaint against Liberty Ridge Farm, an agri-tourism destination located in nearby Schaghticoke, N.Y.
As the couple began their planning process after excitedly getting engaged at an apple orchard, they were heartbroken when they learned their dream venue refused to host, on the sole basis because they were lesbians.
Robert Gifford, who owns the 13-year-old site with his wife Cynthia, told WNYT, “I think it’s our right to choose who we market to, like any business … we are a family business, and we just feel we ought to stay down the family path.”
This isn’t the first time that the owners have turned away a same-sex wedding, but it is the first someone’s doing something about it. Erwin and McCarthy is suing the business, as it directly goes against the state’s Human Rights Law which bans places of accommodation from discrimination against individuals based on sexual orientation (excluding religious-oriented institutions).
However, with no previous cases to call upon, the outcome of this case will play as a precedent to how the court will handle similar discriminatory cases in the future. “We have the laws now but we don’t have the judges interpreting them, which is why it’s kind of a blank slate,” says attorney David Fallon. “It seems like the women would have a strong argument, that it is a place of public accommodation.”
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No longer wanting to host their wedding at Libery Ridge Farm for obvious reasons, the couple is merely seeking an apology and policy change, in hopes that other couples are not faced with the same situation.
However, even if there is a policy change, that isn’t going to alter the owners’ view of same-sex marriage, and who wants to marry in a venue owned by those who don’t respect your union? Which is the very reason why Equally Wed is constantly reseraching and vetting for individuals and companies that you can trust to be LGBT-friendly while creating the wedding of your dreams. See our site for local vendors.
