BOISE, Idaho (AP) β The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho says it won’t challenge a Coeur d’Alene (koor da LAYN’) wedding chapel’s refusal to conduct gay marriages because the chapel falls under a religious exemption, but the city may disagree.
Interim Executive Director Leo Morales said in a news conference that the Hitching Post became a religious corporation in Idaho nearly a month ago.
Morales said the ACLU believes that under its new business classification, the chapel does not have to comply with the city ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation because the chapel only provides religious services.
Unlike most churches, which are tax-exempt and private organizations, a religious corporation is still considered for-profit.
Coeur d’Alene attorney Mike Gridley said last week that Hitching Post owners Don and Lynn Knapp, who are ordained ministers, only would be exempt from the ordinance if they were operating as a nonprofit religious organization.
