- Dec 3, 2006
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East Lansing Settles 6-Figure Religious Freedom Case with Farmer Who Refused to Host Gay Weddings
A farmer who stood by his faith won a resounding verdict over the city that barred him from its farmers market for not hosting gay weddings.
www.westernjournal.com
An effort to ban a Catholic farmer from a farmers market because he would not host same-sex weddings on his property backfired big time for East Lansing, Michigan.
In a settlement released Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Mahoney ruled that Stephen Tennes, who owns Country Mill Farms in Charlotte, Michigan, just outside East Lansing, could collect $42,000 in damages and $783,800 in legal fees after winning his six-year court battle, according to a settlement.
The order also states that East Lansing, which singled Tennes out for enforcement through vendor guidelines that equated not hosting same-sex weddings with discrimination, must not apply those guidelines to him in the future.
Given city costs of more than $292,000 through October for its defense in the case, the full bill for East Lansing will top $1.1 million, according to the Lansing State Journal.
