GRIMES, Iowa (AP) — The owners of a Grimes gift shop and bistro who refused to hold a wedding at their business for a same-sex couple have stopped holding any weddings.
The Des Moines Register reports that Betty and Richard Odgaard have settled a complaint the two gay men filed. And the Odgaards dropped their civil rights lawsuit against Iowa authorities.
Lee Stafford and Jared Ellers filed their complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, saying the Görtz Haus could not discriminate based on religion because the former church is a public venue. The Odgaards said the wedding would have violated their religious beliefs as Mennonites.
The Odgaards settled with the couple for $5,000. The Odgaards also dismissed a lawsuit they filed against the commission that said their religious freedoms were being violated.
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