A six-year legal battle between a farm and the city of East Lansing has ended after a district judge ruled against the city, citing that it had violated a Catholic family’s right to religious freedom.
The Tennes family was banned from selling at a Michigan farmer’s market in 2016 after expressing that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Thanks to the decision, the Tenneses, who run an orchard in nearby Charlotte, may now continue selling their produce at said East Lansing market.
This outcome smote the efforts of city officials who frowned on their religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and had accused them of discriminating.
Seen as a “sweet victory” by Steve Tennes, owner of Country Mill Farms, the decision follows a drawn-out court battle between the two sides.
The feud began in late 2016 when East Lansing barred the Tenneses from selling at a local farmer’s market.
Up until then, the Tenneses and the market had built a mutually helpful relationship of some half-dozen years. Selling fresh produce such as apples, peaches, sweet corn, and blueberries, the family also forged a happy friendship with local patrons.
Although the farm’s Catholic foundations were no secret, they submit they never turned away anyone—not the LGBT community, nor any group or individual.
“They were well received by the market,” ADF attorney Kate Anderson told The Epoch Times. “The city regularly asked them to come back and actually invited them over and over and over again, to come back to the market because they were so well loved.”
East Lansing even posted on its Facebook page, “We love the Country Mill,” Ms. Anderson said.
Then in 2016, something changed. The family answered a comment on Facebook inquiring about their beliefs on marriage.
“[The Tenneses] responded that, as Catholics, they believe marriage is between one man and one woman,” Ms. Anderson said. “And that they live according to that on their farm, including when they participate in weddings on the farm.”
City officials saw this post and responded by pressuring the family to stop attending the market.
“The city was very clear before we filed the case and after we filed the case,” Ms. Anderson said, “that it was because of that Facebook post that they were being kicked out of the market.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the city for comment, however they did not reply by time of publishing.
This pressuring was soon buttressed when the city implemented new rules for selecting market vendors. Candidates now had to “embody the spirit of the market” by complying with the city’s “ordinances and public policy against discrimination.” The Tenneses, the city deemed, had crossed the line and were nixed.
But instead of packing up, the couple chose to sue East Lansing. The city, they argued, was punishing them for their beliefs by excluding them from making a living, violating their Constitutional rights.
Partnering with ADF, they got an injunction from the judge in early 2017, allowing them to continue selling at the market in the interim. The lawsuit could and would be drawn out.
Now, nearly six years have passed. And the Tenneses have prevailed. The trial wouldn’t have taken so long except the judge had waited on certain decisions from the Supreme Court pertaining to the case.
“It came really down from the case, Fulton, from the Supreme Court,” Ms. Anderson said. Now, when a city creates a system of discretion where they can pick and choose candidates based on certain assessments, they cannot kick somebody out for their beliefs.
“This is a good strong ruling, upholding that principle,” Ms. Anderson said. “Others will also, in the future, be protected by other courts to make the same decision.”
The Tenneses fought their battle not just for one family; it laid the groundwork and set a precedent for all Americans.
“We were thrilled to have the court affirm our right to speak and work in line with our religious beliefs,” Mr. Tennes told The Epoch Times, adding that “this win is a win for everyone’s free speech rights.”
Presently, the Tenneses are mending their now-strained relationship with the city while continuing to bring fresh fruit to patrons with the same zeal as always.
“We continue to happily serve everyone who comes to our stand,” the farmer said.
