Ga. Printing Store Refuses To Print Gay Wedding Invitations

The owner of the store didn’t really break any rules, according to Tanya Washington, a law professor at Georgia State.

That’s because Georgia doesn’t have any protections for LGBT individuals nor does it allow same-sex marriages. In Washington State a couple of years ago, a florist refused to serve a same-sex couple, but a judge there ruled that it was illegal because of state law. 

Washington says passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act wouldn’t have a legal impact for private businesses because the text of the bill only applies to the state. Georgia Sen. Josh McKoon is vowing to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session.

“Symbolically it encourages people to use their religious beliefs as a defense when they decide to exclude certain patrons because of their sexual orientation, race or some other reason within the framework of their religious beliefs,” Washington says. “So the passage would encourage more of these incidents.”

The local store in Suwanee is at odds with AlphaGraphics executives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the company is based. The company released a statement saying not printing the wedding invitations for the two women, Megan Burns and Page Beckwith, was a violation of its standards. Burns says she and her fiancée refused the offer.

Tim Holbrook, a professor at Emory University specializing in patent law, says most people don’t distinguish between the actions of a local franchisee and a national brand.

“The fact that they apologized quickly and [offered to print] the invitations ultimately will be enough to offset any potential negative impact on the brand,” Holbrook says.

He says its public stance on not discriminating based on sexual orientation may actually help the company’s image.