- The Washington Times - Thursday, September 7, 2023

A Catholic bookstore owner has received an exception from an ordinance in Jacksonville, Florida, that will let her post her policy against using pronouns that run contrary to a customer’s sex.

Christie DeTrude, owner of the Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore in Jacksonville, reached a settlement with the city that will exempt the store on religious grounds from the Human Rights Ordinance.

Under the settlement, the city agreed to recognize Queen of Angels as a religious organization, meaning the business is “hereby exempt from Jacksonville Code as to sexual orientation and gender identity,” according to the consent order filed Thursday with the court.

The anti-discrimination ordinance exempts churches, synagogues, mosques and nonprofit religious institutions, but Queen of Angels is a for-profit business.

Ms. DeTrude sued in February after the city updated its anti-discrimination ordinance in 2020 to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

She cited concerns that the updated ordinance would expose her to investigations and hefty fines for posting her pronoun policy. The ordinance bans notices and communications that could make patrons feel “unwelcome” based on protected traits.

Hal Frampton, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, applauded the agreement, saying the ordinance would compel Ms. DeTrude to express messages at odds with her Catholic faith.

Christie gladly serves everyone, but she can’t speak messages that conflict with her religious beliefs,” Mr. Frampton said. “Jacksonville’s law threatened her with costly investigations, fines and damages if she used her store’s website to communicate Catholic beliefs about gender identity and human sexuality. Thankfully, the city has now agreed that Queen of Angels is a religious organization free to operate according to its faith.”

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan denied in June the store’s request for a preliminary injunction, but instructed Ms. DeTrude to file an amended complaint and motion for summary judgment limited to the religious-exception argument.

The settlement comes as religious business owners like Ms. DeTrude challenge anti-discrimination laws in a battle pitting First Amendment against LGBTQ rights.

The Supreme Court weighed in with a June 30 decision in favor of Colorado designer Lorie Smith, finding that she could not be punished under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act for refusing to create websites for same-sex weddings.

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