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Concluded U.S. District Courts

Knapp v. City of Coeur d'Alene

Donald and Evelyn Knapp in front of the Hitching Post

Summary

In 2013, the city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, passed an ordinance adding sexual orientation and gender identity to its public-accommodation law. For months, city officials told Donald Knapp that he and his wife, Evelyn, both ordained ministers who ran the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, would be required to perform same-sex ceremonies or violate a city law that threatened them with months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overturned Idaho’s voter-approved constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as the union of a man and a woman, the Knapps even closed the Hitching Post for several days out of fear of being prosecuted.

Just one day after they reopened, the couple received a request to officiate a same-sex wedding ceremony. They politely declined and quickly filed a pre-enforcement challenge against the city ordinance that threatened them. The lawsuit and accompanying public outcry caused the city to back down and promise not to enforce its law against the Knapps.

ADF eventually secured a judgment against the city for the time the Hitching Post was closed and had lost income. And based on the city’s promise that it would not enforce the ordinance against the Hitching Post going forward, the rest of the lawsuit was dismissed. Because of their lawsuit, the Knapps were thus free to speak and operate their business consistent with their religious beliefs going forward.

Case Profiles

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Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp
Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Public Policy
Matt Sharp serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Public Policy.
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Jeremy Tedesco
Jeremy Tedesco
Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement
Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of communications for Alliance Defending Freedom.
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Jonathan Scruggs
Jonathan Scruggs
Senior Counsel, Vice President of Litigation Strategy & Center for Conscience Initiatives
Jonathan Scruggs serves as senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy and the Center for Conscience Initiatives with Alliance Defending Freedom.
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Kevin Theriot
Kevin Theriot
Senior Counsel
Kevin Theriot serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Life Team working to defend pro-life speech and protect medical rights of conscience.