California's Janet Zimmerman Catering Allegedly Refuses To Host Gay Couple's Wedding

California Catering Company Under Fire For Allegedly Rejecting Gay Grooms-To-Be

A California caterer is making headlines after allegedly refusing to provide services for a same-sex wedding, citing her "Christian beliefs."

As The Advocate is reporting, Kama Kaina contacted Janet Zimmerman Catering in November, ahead of his planned wedding to Mathew Rivera in Big Bear, Calif. Though Zimmerman had initially agreed to cater the couple's reception, she declined the job in an email to Kaina, saying her religious beliefs prevented her from doing so.

"I hope that you will also appreciate when I am honest with you when I say that catering your wedding would comprise [sic] my Christian beliefs and I will be unable to accept this job," Zimmerman wrote in an email, cited by The Advocate's Daniel Reynolds. "I am sure that you will be able to find someone who will better suit your needs."

Zimmerman's refusal to host the nuptials is preceded by similar cases of various businesses rejecting same-sex couples in Oregon, New York and Iowa. On Jan. 7, Jack Phillips of Colorado's Masterpiece Cakeshop announced plans to appeal a December 2013 court ruling, in which he was ordered to serve gay couples despite his conservative views on same-sex marriage.

Unfortunately for Kaina and Rivera, Zimmerman may be legally entitled to withhold services from the pair if a court classified the catering company as a service as opposed to a business establishment, West Hollywood attorney David Hakimfar said, even though same-sex marriage in California legally resumed last June after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed Prop 8 unconstitutional.

Read The Advocate's full story here.

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