Discriminivacation: The Hitching Post
Even in 2019, the state of Idaho still does not protect their lgbt citizens from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. This means that according to the state, a business would be free to fire an employee from her job just because she’s gay, for a landlord to deny a person a place to live just because he’s trans, and for a store or restaurant to refuse service to customers just because of who they love. A few cities within the state have chosen to protect lgbt folk from such discrimination within their city limits. The city of Coeur d’Alene elected to add lgbt protections to their local civil rights laws in 2013. Then in 2014, Idaho’s anti-gay marriage amendment was struck down by the courts.
Sitting directly across the street from the local Coeur d’Alene courthouse, the Vegas style tacky western “drive-thru” wedding chapel, Hitching Post, realized that they were running an open-to-the-public business that was prohibited from refusing their services to gay customers and gay marriage was now legal.
Being the good Christians that they are, they decided that although they had never previously attempted to apply their personal religious opinions to their straight customer’s marriages, they must now refuse to provide their secular, non-religiously affiliated, publicly offered services to gay people. With the help of their odious representation, Alliance Defending Freedom, Hitching Post filed a federal lawsuit against the city for the right to flout the non-discrimination laws that all other local businesses were required to follow.
ADF used this case to erroneously claim that gay marriage leads to ministers and churches being forced to conduct ceremonies for gay couples, eroding religious freedom and the First Amendment in the US. Of course this was ridiculous because The Hitching Post was, at the time, a public accommodation, not a church. Its operation and business model was no different than a fast food joint, not at all like a church.
At some point during the lawsuit, the business changed their legal status from public accommodation to “religious corporation.” This change in business model exempted them from adherence to civil rights laws but also prohibits them from providing general secular non-religious services to the public. Now they only provide religious services.
Because of this “religious corporation” status, The Hitching Post continues to be permitted to refuse service to gay couples to this day.
Don and Evelyn Knapp, owners of Hitching Post, found a way to legally operate their for-profit business while refusing service to gay couples.
