Catholic Family Isn’t Allowed To Sell Blueberries At Their Local Farmer’s Market Because They Don’t Believe In Gay Marriage

Yep. You read that right.

Meet the Tennes family. They’re farmers who grow a ton of delicious produce at the Country Mill Farm. I’m talking pumpkins, corn and my personal favorite, blueberries. Like a lot of farmers, they sell their produce at their local farmer’s market. Well, they used to, anyway. You see, some time ago, someone posted on their Facebook page, asking if the family would be willing to host a same-sex marriage wedding ceremony on their farm. The Tennes family said no, citing their Catholic beliefs. They believe marriage is sacred and only between one man and one woman. Not a big deal, right? A lot of people believe that way, and it’s their farm. They have every right to say no. Right?

Not according to city officials. You see, they discovered this old inquiry and determined that the Tennes family essentially “violated the city’s discrimination ordinance.” Officials therefore banished them from selling their produce at the local farmer’s market.

Via Todd Starnes:

“It was brought to our attention that The Country Mill’s general business practices do not comply with East Lansing’s Civil Rights ordinances and public policy against discrimination as set forth in Chapter 22 of the City Code and outlined in the 2017 Market Vendor Guidelines, as such, The Country Mill’s presence as a vendor his prohibited by the City’s Farmer’s Market Vendor Guidelines,” read a letter the city sent to the family.

 

It also did not seem to matter to city leaders that the farm is located 22 miles outside the city limits – and had absolutely nothing to do with the business of selling blueberries at the farmer’s market.

 

“We were surprised and we were shocked,” Steve told me. “My wife and I both volunteered to serve in the military – to protect freedom now we come home and the freedom that we worked to protect – we have to defend in our own backyard.”

 

I reached out to city leaders but they did not return my calls seeking comment.

 

“Whether you are a Jew, Muslim or Christian – people of faith should not be eradicated from the marketplace simply because they don’t share the same thoughts and ideas that the government is choosing to promote,” Steve told me.

Of course the city leaders don’t want to talk to Starnes. Of course.

The good news? The Tennes family isn’t going down without a fight. On Wednesday, the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a suit against East Lansing.

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“All Steve wants to do is sell his food to anyone who wants to buy it, but the city isn’t letting him,” said ADF Legal Counsel Kate Anderson. “People of faith, like the Tennes family, should be free to live and work according to their deeply held beliefs without fear of losing their livelihood. If the government can shut down a family farmer just because of the religious views he expresses on Facebook—by denying him a license to do business and serve fresh produce to all people—then no American is free.”

Like Starnes said, this is yet another effort by the left to stifle free speech. We’re not allowed to think for ourselves. We’re not allowed to stand up for our religious liberty in the public sphere. The left wants to silence us.

I’m glad the Tennes family isn’t going down without a fight.