GoFundMe Shuts Down Second Christian Account

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Apr 30, 2015

GoFundMe Shuts Down Second Christian Account

Another GoFundMe page was removed this week— this time, one for a Christian florist who could lose her business after she refused to be the florist for a same-sex wedding.

This is the second Christian page GoFundMe has removed, according to Christian News Network. The first page that was taken down was Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a business that was ordered to pay $135,000 in “emotional damages” to two lesbian women. The bakery owners had also refused to serve the wedding.

Arlene’s Flowers in Richland was the second page to get the boot from the site. Baronelle Stutzman, who owns the business, received a lawsuit in 2012 that claimed she violated the law when she refused to service the same-sex wedding.

“I just took his hands and said, ‘I’m sorry. I cannot do your wedding because of my relationship with Jesus Christ,’” Stutzman told reporters.

In February, a Benton County judge ruled that Sutzman had discriminated against the couple and she was ordered to pay $1,000. She may also be required to pay for legal fees and damages.

Her GoFundMe page raised more than $174,000 before it was pulled from the site.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe said that its decision “to remove the ‘Arlene’s Flowers’ campaign was based on a violation of GoFundMe’s terms.”

“After careful review by our team, we have found the ‘Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa’ campaign to be in violation of our terms and conditions,” a release from the site said. “[T]he subjects of the ‘Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa’ campaign have been formally charged by local authorities and found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts. Accordingly, the campaign has been disabled.”

Publication date: April 30, 2015



GoFundMe Shuts Down Second Christian Account