Devout florists will no longer be coerced into providing their services for the nuptials of same-sex couples if a new law being proposed in Connecticut is enacted.
To protect professionals from violating their consciences, a Catholic Church lobbyist is asking the State Legislature's judiciary committee to codify the rights of business owners "opposed to gay marriage who have faced legal action elsewhere because they declined to provide goods or services to gay couples."
Last fall, the state Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples had the right to marry and Connecticut became the second state to recognize same-sex marriage, but no one could foresee the assault on the civil rights of florists, caterers, wedding cake makers and tuxedo renters that would ensue.
If the new law passes, gay nuptials will have to do without the services of those talented but principled people who have made America's small-town wedding halls the envy of art lovers all over the world.
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