Amy and Stephanie Mudd were discriminated against at a Kentucky accountant’s office for their relationship status, sources say.
What We Know:
- Amy’s mother-in-law recommended the business because of its affordable price. The Mudds then spoke with Randall, set up an appointment, and drove an hour from Glasgow, Kentucky, on April 3. However, they felt devastated upon arrival.
- Aries Tax Service in Radcliff, Kentucky, promotes customers can file e-returns for $55. The signs outside the business provided a list of 10 things a client must bring to Ken Randall, the registered tax return preparer for Aries. However, at the end of it all, Randall notes a personal restriction of his: no homosexual marriages.
“Homosexual marriage not recognized,” Randall wrote at the bottom of the paper.
- Stephanie felt anger that some businesses can still discriminate against same-sex couples. Stephanie took a picture of the window before driving off. Amy said the couple wanted to raise awareness of the situation. They wanted to let him know his actions were unacceptable. Amy referenced Randall is providing a public service, federal taxes, and that in the United States, homosexual marriage is legal. The couple eventually went to their original tax preparer in Bradenburg after seeing Randall’s establishment.
“We have a wonderful family, and to be shamed because of who I love is awful,” Amy told The Courier Journal in an email. She added the couple has twin daughters, four dogs, and a cat.
- Randall, both an insurance agent and accountant, explained to The Courier-Journal that although he files taxes to single homosexuals, he morally objects to those marriages. Despite not filing gay married couples’ taxes, he will sell them insurance. However, he will only do so if he can put them down as single. In addition, he claimed the federal law protects his decision to do so.
- According to NBC News, no federal law explicitly permits people to deny same-sex couples or other classes of people based on their personal beliefs. Additionally, there is no federal or Kentucky state law that protects LGBTQIA+ people from public discrimination. While Kentucky has 21 municipalities and counties protected by
- Fairness Ordinances, the city of Radcliff, and Hardin County are not part of that number.
- Legal advocates declared situations like these are increasing. This is because conservative religious organizations have built campaigns and lawsuits for years to oppose civil rights laws. Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director at national LGBTQ legal organization Lambda Legal, asserts these associations want legal rulings that prove there are religious and free speech rights to defy these laws.
- NBC News mentions cases in which people have denied same-sex couples, such as Jack Phillips, Arlene’s Flowers, Chelsey Nelson, and more. One to prioritize in this article is that of Emilee Carpenter. Earlier this month, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. The alliance contended the state’s nondiscrimination law unconstitutionally restricts photographer Emilee Carpenter from “adopting an editorial policy consistent with her beliefs about marriage.” The ADF argued that a portion of the state law limiting statements that certain people are “unwelcome, objectionable or not accepted, desired, or solicited” interferes with Carpenter’s free speech. It prohibits her from expressing her views on same-sex marriages on her website. According to Pizer, this case represents an unsettled area of law because it specifically relates to people in artistic fields.
- Courts have mostly upheld nondiscrimination laws, but there are cases in which they haven’t. When they do not support these laws, it is because of technicalities or because they violate a creative professional’s freedom of expression. Such as in September 2019, when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state’s nondiscrimination law violated the free speech of two artists who make custom wedding invitations by pushing them to promote same-sex weddings.
- Pizer says using free speech rights to defend one’s discrimination “represents a dramatic shift from what the law has been for a long time.” This argument potentially challenges the Equality Act, federal legislation that intends to defend the LGBTQIA+ community thoroughly. The measure passed the House in February, but the Senate still needs to vote on it. If there are no federal measures like the Equality Act, same-sex couples would not have legal recourse options. Because of this, a business could continue refusing service.
- She added Randall is an accountant and not a creative professional. Therefore, any argument related to free speech is inapplicable in the case of a federal or state nondiscrimination law. In terms of using religion to deny gay couples, Pizer says a growing acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ group has made some religious people stop certain prejudicial acts.
“When we’re operating in the public marketplace, being asked to stop discriminating is not to suffer discrimination yourself. It’s to be invited to play by the same rules that everybody else is expected to play by,” Pizer declared.
- When asked about pursuing legal action, the Mudds announced they would not, even if they could. Instead, they wanted to make a statement about Randall’s opinions. Amy understands Randall’s perspective is based on the values of freedom in this country. Yet, she feels Randall denying a good portion of the population services is just bad business.
Stephanie built on this, claiming that his actions were the opposite of morals. She believes people who act like this are hiding behind their religion to legitimize their hate. Stephanie says those behaviors are “what is so frustrating.” Their story, alongside others, may inspire our country’s leaders to enact laws that will protect relationships from such intolerance.
