A lesbian couple says that they were looking for a wedding dress two weeks ago, but all they found in one shop was bigotry.
Shannon Kennedy and Julie Ann Samanas visited W.W. Bridal Boutique in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, with Julie Ann’s sister to prepare for their March, 2018, wedding.
They were given a form to fill out, and that’s where the bridal shop owner found out that they were a same-sex couple.
“We filled out the form that said ‘Bride’s name,’ ‘Budget’ and then where it said ‘Groom,’ we crossed it out and wrote ‘Bride’ and put Shannon’s name down,” Julie Ann told Philadelphia Gay News.
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They handed the form in to one of the employees, who asked them if the dress was for a same-sex wedding. “She said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’re Christian and we don’t believe in that; our faith doesn’t let us believe in that,’” Shannon said.
Then they left the boutique. “I think we were kind of in shock,” Shannon said.
Julie Ann posted about the discrimination on Facebook and received a lot of support.
The bridal shop also posted a message to Facebook that they have since deleted. According to the Philadelphia Gay News, the message said, “The owners of W.W. Bridal Boutique reserve the rights afforded to them by the First Amendment of the Constitution to live out our lives according to our faith. ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ We will continue to serve our customers based on the tenets of our faith.”
Pennsylvania has no state-wide law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
