Catholic store in Florida wins a “religious exemption” from city’s human rights ordinance that could compel use of preferred pronouns not aligned with biology.
A Catholic bookstore in North Florida has settled a federal lawsuit with the City of Jacksonville over legislation suggesting businesses must use preferred pronouns in order to provide a “welcoming” environment.
Under Jacksonville’s human rights ordinance (HRO), failing to use requested pronouns could be deemed as discrimination against people who identify as nonbinary, gender-fluid, or transgender.
But in September, the city backed down from the fight, agreeing to give the Queen of Angels Catholic Store a “religious exemption” from the measure, an attorney for the bookstore told The Epoch Times.
So, at least for now, the bookstore owner is able to continue to share her religious beliefs on her website—that God created only men and women and that pronouns should align with biology.
Around the state and across the country, other cities are adopting similar legislation requiring businesses to affirm gender identity. At least 10 Florida cities have similar regulations that offer protection from discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-identifying people, including Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville, and Key West.
Most for-profit businesses are not granted religious exemptions from those “anti-discrimination” ordinances, regardless of the religious beliefs of the business owners.
Christie DeTrude, the owner and operator of the Catholic bookstore in Jacksonville, filed a lawsuit against the city in February over concerns about how the local HRO could affect her ability to share principles of her faith in her store and on the business website.
She worried the ordinance would force her to act and speak in ways that were in direct opposition to her religious beliefs. And that, she said, would be a violation of her First Amendment rights.
The city’s long-standing human rights ordinance was updated in 2020 by the Jacksonville City Council to require businesses to provide a “welcoming” environment to customers and employees in a way that affirms their gender identities, including the use of their preferred pronouns.
By Jacob Burg
