To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE


SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

Victory: Judge Allows Christian Farmer, Banned from City Market for Traditional Marriage Beliefs, to Return—for Now

Fr. Mark Hodges : Sep 20, 2017  LifeSiteNews.com

"The Constitution ensures everyone the right to speak freely and to make their own decisions about what they believe." -Kate Anderson, Alliance Defending Freedom

airlift(East Lansing, MI)—[LifeSiteNews.com] A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to a Christian farmer banned from the East Lansing Farmer's Market over his religious views. (Photo: Steve and Bridget Tennes and their family/via LifeSiteNews.com)

The city, home of Michigan State University, passed a special law earlier this year specifically to oust Steve and Bridget Tennes, owners of Country Mill Farms in Charlotte.

"As the court found, East Lansing officials changed their market policy to shut out Steve because they don't like his Catholic beliefs regarding marriage," Alliance Defending Freedom's Kate Anderson, who is representing the Tennes, said.

In August 2016, Steve Tennes answered a Facebook inquiry about his 120-acre farm hosting a homosexual wedding. "Due to our religious beliefs, we do not participate in the celebration of a same-sex union," Tennes responded on Facebook.

When East Lansing officials got wind of Tennes' Facebook response, they told him not to come to their Farmer's Market because there may be protests. Tennes went anyway and there were no protests. So the city took it to the next level.

City officials changed the farmer's market contract, adding a requirement that vendors' "general business practice" obey the city's pro-homosexual ordinance against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender self-identity, and gender expression.

With the excluding addition in place, the city denied Tennes a vendor's permit in March, even though Tennes had been a fixture at the farmer's market for six years.

After passing the ordinance change, the city then accused Tennes' Country Mill of violating it. "The Country Mill has been excluded from the East Lansing Farmer's Market because the East Lansing Farmer's Market policy requires that all vendors comply with the City's Civil Rights ordinances."

Tennes sued the city in May, saying he was discriminated against because of his sincerely held religious beliefs. "True tolerance is a two-way street," Tennes said. "The government should not eradicate people of faith from the marketplace."

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows stood his ground against the Catholic farmer, saying, "They can say whatever they want, but their corporation needs to act in a certain way to qualify to sell products at the East Lansing Farmer's Market on publicly owned land."

Tennes petitioned to be allowed back at the farmer's market while his court case proceeds. "Since June 1, we've already missed 3 1/2 months of being able to attend East Lansing Farmer's Market, where we've served everyone for the last seven years," Steve Tennes said. "Now we only have about six weeks left of the market to be able to sell."

The city tried to dismiss Tennes' lawsuit outright, but late last week District Court Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo granted Tennes' request to be allowed back at the farmer's market while Tennes' lawsuit...

Continue reading here.







SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News

An Easter Miracle!! 2nd Crew Member from Downed Jet in Iran Rescued and Safely Extracted after Intense Race to Reach Him before IRGC Terrorists

PRAYER ALERT: US F-15 Fighter Jet Downed in SW Iran, 1 Pilot Rescued and Safe; Search Continues for Second One

Dutch Sheets: Good Friday Message & Communion

'I Began to Pray': Pastor Talks Down Crazed Man Who Points Gun Directly at Him, Leads 10 to Christ

Trump HHS Renews Planned Parenthood Grants for 'Final Year' Due to Legalities, But 'Funds CANNOT Be Used for Abortions'

WATCH: Families at the Center of Washington State Transgender Sports Debate Stand Firm for Truth

Levin: Ruling Against Birthright Citizenship Should Be a 'Slam-Dunk' for Supreme Court [Video]

Colorado Appeals Court Reverses Tina Peters' Sentencing, Could This Lead to Her Freedom?

March Job Growth Triples Expectations, Unemployment Rate Dips

Artemis II Mission Pilot: 'We Need Jesus; Whether Here on Earth or Orbiting the Moon'

Democrat Lawmaker Steps Down, Says Faith No Longer Aligns with Left's Agenda

Trump Administration Charges 9 in Massive Massachusetts Fraud Scheme

ICE Finally Detains Notorious Hamas Fundraiser Salah Sarsour; Decades of Terror Ties Exposed as AMP Leader Faces Deportation

Johnson, Thune Hatch Plan to Fund DHS and Launch a Second Reconciliation Push to End the Dem's Shutdown

Pentagon Briefed Trump on Plan to Seize Uranium from Hands of Iranian Terrorist Regime

President Trump Reassures Americans: Iran Operation Won't Be a Forever War

Pam Bondi OUT as Attorney General

Countdown for Historic Space Mission Artemis II Begins

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Construction on Privately Funded White House Ballroom; Trump Responds

Trump Rolls Out a Plan to Back Farmers amid Rising Costs, Pledging 'Golden Age'



Search the Articles Archives

Keyword:  
Author:  
Words Posted On:  
Day Month Year



Subscribe to
Breaking Christian News


Follow BCN on Twitter
Are You Praying for Our Government Leaders?
BCN Staff

Steve Shultz
Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner


Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd, Editor


BCN Plus
Are You Praying for President Trump?
 
 

All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.


Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.

editor@breakingchristiannews.com