Same-sex couple shocked after restaurant backs out of catering their wedding

CENTRALIA, Wash. (KING) - A Washington state restaurant is facing a wave of scrutiny after it decided not to cater a same-sex wedding due to the owner's religious beliefs.

Rayah Calkins and her fiancée, Lillian Glover, are hurting after receiving unexpected news about the wedding they're planning for January. The restaurant JJ's To Go, which was supposed to cater the same-sex wedding, backed out due to the owner's religious beliefs.

"A shock to me," Calkins said. "We've never received that blatant discrimination to our face."

The decision came after a month of discussion over Instagram with the restaurant to cater the big day.

The couple met up with Jessica Britton, the restaurant owner, in person Saturday to finalize the deal – but it was not to be. They say Britton canceled after finding out they were lesbians.

"Telling you after they visually see you two together that that's not something they can move forward with was – it's something you just can't really comprehend in the moment," Calkins said.

Britton says she doesn't discriminate against anyone and says this decision is following her faith.

"We love them. Jesus loves them. They are human just like us," she said. "The part of a wedding being a religious ceremony and religious act between a man and a woman goes against my beliefs and my faith, and I cannot participate."

She says as the news has spread, there have been continuous threats against her family.

"I have had hundreds of people tell me it would be better if I wasn't alive," Britton said.

Calkins says she and her fiancée don't want anyone to make threats or do anything violent, but they are encouraging peaceful protesting. The couple also plan to take legal action against the restaurant.

Until then, they're just happy another caterer, Crowded Kitchen in Toledo, has accepted them and their marriage.

"When we shook their hand, I'm like, 'You're family with us now,'" Calkins said. "You stepped up in a moment. It was probably one of the biggest, hardest moments we've encountered in our lives."

In 2013, a Richland florist refused to provide flowers for a gay couple's wedding. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the florist broke the state's anti-discrimination law. Her lawyer appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which later upheld the lower court's ruling.

The owner of the flower shop agreed to pay a $5,000 settlement to the couple in 2021.