AVON, Ind. — An Indiana couple said they were discriminated by a florist shop last week when the florist was told wedding flowers would be for two men.
Indianapolis TV station RTV6 reported that David Elliot went to Avon Florist, in Avon, Ind., just west of Indianapolis, to get flowers for his wedding. Once he told the florist the wedding was for two men, she suddenly said she was going on vacation and couldn’t do the wedding. Elliot posted about it on his Facebook page which has gone viral since last week.
From RTV6:
RTV6 went to the floral shop Saturday to get the owner’s side of the story, but the shop had closed earlier than posted business hours.
We also called the shop and left a message. A man who identified himself as Greg Harris called back and said he had no comment to make about the alleged incident.
Elliott says he isn’t angry about the ordeal, but he does feel like businesses should be able to fulfill requests like his without their personal beliefs getting in the way.
“Everyone has their beliefs, and you can believe whatever you want to believe,” said Elliot. “But if you’re working for the public and in the public, you should be able to set those aside for the public and for your job.”
We couldn’t find a Facebook page for the florist, but their Google Reviews page is not looking good. Many have left reviews denouncing it as anti-LGBTQ and leaving one star.
RTV6 said that Indiana does have a religious freedom law, passed a few years ago to national controversy. However, the law does say it can’t be used to discriminate against LGBTQ people.