Back in August 2016, farm owner Steve Tennes announced in a Facebook post he will not host same-sex weddings at Country Mill Farms, his picturesque family farm in Eaton County. Reacting to that announcement, East Lansing punished Tennes by excluding Country Mills Farms from its popular invitation-only weekend farmers’ market.
After submitting an application to be included, which was denied, Tennes sued the city in 2017.
On Monday, the court ruled in favor of Tennes and the claim his Free Exercise rights to practice his religion had been violated by East Lansing.
“The City’s decision to exclude Country Mill Farms from the 2017 East Lansing Farmer’s Market constituted a burden on Plaintiffs’ religious beliefs,” wrote U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney. “Plaintiffs were forced to choose between following their religious beliefs and a government benefit for which they were otherwise qualified.”
"The court came in with a strong ruling supporting religious freedom for everyone,” says attorney Kate Anderson, with Alliance Defending Freedom, “saying that East Lansing violated Steve Tennes's religious beliefs, and his free exercise rights, when they kicked him out of a farmers market because of what he believes about marriage.”
According to a related story by the Lansing State Journal, Tennes has been participating in the farmers’ market since 2017, when Judge Maloney issued a preliminary injunction against East Lansing that allowed the farmer to keep its booth.
Regarding the lengthy court case, Anderson says it’s been a “long haul” for Tennes who has now convinced a court to agree no one should be forced to choose between their faith and their business.
