What This Christian Business Owner Sued By Homosexuals Wants from the Government

Blaine Adamson, a believer, prints messages on T-shirts. He owns a business called Hands On Originals in Kentucky. Although he hires and serves homosexuals, he declined to print T-shirts for a “gay pride” event.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban Human Rights Commission claimed that he’d discriminated against homosexuals, and a circuit court reversed the commission’s ruling. The commission supposedly concerned about human rights appealed, but to no avail. The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in Adamson’s favor.

The losing side has appealed to the state’s highest court.

Adamson has written an op-ed for the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal about his experiences. An excerpt:

“For all the years that I’ve been running my business, Hands on Originals, I’ve happily served and employed people of all backgrounds, of all walks of life.

“That’s why it was hard in 2012 when a customer sued us after I politely declined to make T-shirts promoting the local pride festival. I was surprised because I work with and serve gay people. But I can’t print any message that goes against my faith, no matter who asks me to print it. And whenever I can’t print something, I always offer them to another local print shop.

“As is the custom for T-shirt makers of all kinds, I’ve declined plenty of orders in the past. For example, I was once asked to make a shirt with Jesus on a bucket of chicken, with chicken coming out of the bucket. I didn’t feel right making that one. I’ve been asked to make a shirt promoting an adult film, one that promoted a strip club, and one or two that promoted violence. I couldn’t in good conscience print any of those shirts.”