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GoFundMe Yanks Another Page After Gay Activists Complain
News:
This time the target is Baronelle Stutzman
RICHLAND, Wa., May 1, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) – GoFundMe has pulled down another page as a result of complaints lodged by gay activists. This time the target is Baronelle Stutzman, the owner of a flower shop in Washington penalized for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding.
Last week, the crowdfunding site yanked the donations page for Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an Oregon bakery fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. GoFundMe claims the page violated the site's policy, which doesn't allow fundraising related to “formal charges of heinous crimes.”
Earlier this year, a Washington court found Baronelle Stutzman guilty of discrimination, and ordered her to pay a fine plus court costs, which were high enough to threaten bankruptcy and the loss of her home. When the opposing party offered to settle, Stutzman refused. Her response: “You are asking me to walk in the way of a well-known betrayer, one who sold something of infinite worth for 30 pieces of silver. That is something I will not do.”
Her page had raised $174,000 when it was quietly taken down earlier this week. GoFundMe has since expanded its list of forbidden activities, which now includes a ban on campaigns defending against “claims of discriminatory acts.”
Some note GoFundMe's expanded policy will make it harder for Christian businesses suffering heavy fines to obtain donations through the site.
