Floral artist targeted by Washington state for her beliefs to testify before Indiana committee

WHO: ADF Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek, Washington floral artist Barronelle Stutzman
WHAT: Testimony on Indiana Senate Bills 100 and 344
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. EST
WHERE: Indiana Senate Rules Committee, Senate Chamber, 3rd Floor, State House, Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS – Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek and Washington floral artist Barronelle Stutzman, whom ADF represents in court after she was sued for her beliefs, will testify before the Indiana Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday.

The two will address the dangers of two bills, SB 100 and 344, which would empower the government to force people to promote messages and participate in events that conflict with their beliefs.

“All laws must respect the freedoms of every citizen, no matter who they are,” said Fiedorek, who will be available for media interviews following her testimony. “The idea that all laws should be fair to every citizen should unite us on common ground. Every American should be free to live and work according to their faith without fear of punishment by the government. Laws that protect this bedrock principle are just; laws that don’t are unjust.”

“People in creative professions regularly have to make decisions about where they lend their artistic talents and the events in which they will participate,” added Stutzman, whom the Washington attorney general and the American Civil Liberties Union sued for declining to use her artistic abilities to design custom floral arrangements for a long-time customer’s same-sex ceremony. “For me, it’s never about the person who walks into the shop, but about the message I’m communicating when someone asks me to ‘say it with flowers.’ We should all have artistic freedom and the right to disagree without one side of a conversation being threatened by the government.”