Minnesota Videographers Want to Exclude Gay Wedding. Judge Disagrees.

Here's a road that the LGBT community has been down a couple of times over the past couple of years.  A pair of Minnesota videographers named Angel and Carl Larsen wanted to expand their business into the wedding world, but not for same-sex couples.  They wanted to post a statement on their website stating this matter, court documents said.

Not so fast though, according to one judge.  Per the New York Times, a ruling handed down put the Larsens ran into a legal roadblock, as judge John R. Turnheim said their plan would be like posting a sign saying "White Applicants Only".  The couple is appealing the ruling, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit whose lawyers are representing the couple.

This is just one of the handful of situations where someone's religious beliefs have challenged the law of the land in an epic battle of state vs. church.  A bakery owner in Colorado refused to make a cake for a gay couple back in 2012, and this has now made its way to the Supreme Court, which is set to hear the case this fall.

And of course, there was Kim Davis, who refused to do her job and issue marriage licenses in the state of Kentucky due to her "religious beliefs".  This led to a ton of lawsuits, her being jailed for a brief moment, and the eventual passage of a new law removing clerks names from licenses.  

The Larsens started this whole mess late last year when they filed a lawsuit against Kevin Tracey, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and Lori Swanson, the state's attorney general.  Mr. Tracey's department is "pleased" with the judge's results.  No word yet from Ms. Swanson's.  

It seems as if these sorts of cases will continue to pop up as the battle between religious freedom and government rages on.