EAST LANSING, Mich. — The City of East Lansing is issuing the statement below in response to a federal lawsuit that has been filed and a media advisory that has been issued by the Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys on behalf of The Country Mill:
“The Country Mill has been excluded from the East Lansing Farmer’s Market because the East Lansing Farmer’s Market policy requires that all vendors comply with the City’s Civil Rights ordinances while at the market and as a general business practice. Contrary to this policy and the constitutionally protected rights of all couples, The Country Mill has advertised that their business practice is to prohibit same-sex couples from holding weddings at their orchard in Charlotte, MI. Their business practices violate the City of East Lansing’s long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the Supreme Court’s ruling that grants the right for same-sex couples to be married.”
The East Lansing Farmer’s Market 2017 Vendor Guidelines state that market vendors will embody the spirit of the market by complying with the City of East Lansing’s Civil Rights ordinances and the public policy against discrimination contained in Chapter 22 of the East Lansing City Code while at the market and as a general business practice.
Chapter 22 of the East Lansing City Code can be found here: https://www.municode.com/library/mi/east_lansing/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH22HURE.