Hitching Post suit sparks outrage

Coeur d'Alene City Hall has been inundated this week with phone calls and emails regarding the Hitching Post and the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.

The mayor alone has received more than 2,500 emails, said city spokesman Keith Erickson.

"It's been on overload - and I think it's the misinformation that we're threatening to throw the Knapps in jail," Erickson said.

Erickson was referring to Hitching Post wedding chapel owners Don and Evelyn Knapp, the couple of ordained ministers who are suing the city of Coeur d'Alene. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, claims that through its anti-discrimination ordinance, the city is violating the Knapps' constitutional rights to free speech and religious freedom by forcing them to solemnize same-sex marriages.

News of the lawsuit prompted dozens of online reports, mainly by conservative media outlets, that the city is threatening to arrest and jail the Knapps.

The city says it hasn't taken any action against the couple and has not received any complaint that the Hitching Post owners have broken any law.

Most of the communications received by the city Monday and Tuesday are from Hitching Post supporters.

"Every department is being hit, from municipal services to planning," Erickson said.

Nearly all the calls and emails appear to be from people living outside the area, he said.

A caller from a Texas area code left a message for a Press editor on Tuesday, an apparent friendly warning about possible negative economic consequences for the city.

The caller said he was thinking about buying a home in North Idaho.

"I'm probably going to back out of that, considering what's going on with them trying to put two preachers in jail for 180 days," he said. "I don't know anybody there. I'm from the East Coast. I work in the oil industry. I hope you pick this story up because you're going to lose some interested people, and that's a beautiful area you've got up there."

The city's ordinance, adopted in 2013, bars discrimination in "public accommodations" based on sexual orientation. A person convicted of violating the law could be subject to a fine of "not more than $1,000" and 180 days in jail.

The ordinance specifically exempts "religious corporations." City Attorney Mike Gridley has stated that the city will not prosecute legitimate nonprofit religious corporations.

The Hitching Post claims to be a "religious corporation" but it's also registered as a limited liability company, a for-profit designation.

Gov. Butch Otter weighed in Tuesday when he announced he is asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for an 11-judge panel to review the three-judge ruling that overturned Idaho's same-sex marriage ban last week.

"One of the key arguments against the Idaho Constitution's defense of traditional marriage has been that redefining it to include same-sex couples would not harm anyone. But the Hitching Post example shows the fallacy of that position," Otter said.

From Fox News to Huffington Post, the Hitching Post story has created an Internet buzz on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

For a collection of tweets, posts and links offering various opinions on the Hitching Post lawsuit, visit storify.com/CdAPressNews/hitchingpost.