Barronelle Stutzman, surrounded by supporters, speaks with the media after appearing for the Washington Supreme Court at Bellevue College on Nov. 15, 2016. | Screenshot: Facebook/Alliance Defending Freedom
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Christian florist from Washington state fined refusing to make a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding because she felt it went against her religious beliefs about marriage.Â
In doing so, the Washington Supreme Court ruling against the Christian florist remains intact. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch each said the court should have taken the case.
Though the case dates back to 2013, religious liberty legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom said the fight to defend Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arleneâs Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, for standing for her beliefs is not over.Â
The Progress-Index
While cannabis enthusiasts around the state are celebrating the early days of marijuana legalization, weed arrests in Petersburg have been in decline over the last five years.
The city saw a spike in drug arrests in 2018 and 2019, in which over 500 arrests were made each before sharply declining in 2020. Petersburg Police Department reported a record number of 197 drug arrests to state police for last year. The police department hasn’t seen a number that low since 2015.
“It is a win because it eliminates the disproportionate penalizing against black people,” said Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of Marijuana Justice.
Virginia State Police reported a 36.7% decrease in drug arrests, with marijuana arrests dropping over 30% from last year. Similar to Petersburg, the state’s number of marijuana arrests are on the rise up until 2020.
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