Kerby Anderson

Two years ago, I did a commentary about a Christian T-shirt company that was sued because the owner declined to print a message that conflicted with his biblical perspective. I recently found out much more about Blaine Adamson and wanted to tell you the rest of his story.

Five years ago, a customer who came to his company, Hands on Originals, sued him when he declined to print a message that promoted homosexuality. Blaine says that he got into the T-shirt printing business because so many of the Christian T-shirts at the time were so poorly done. They were, in his words, “cheesy.”

Because he has high standards, he has declined to print other T-shirts. Once he was asked to make a shirt with Jesus on a bucket of chicken, with chickens coming out the bucket. He turned them down. He also turned down shirt orders that would have promoted an adult film, another that would have promoted a strip club, and a few that he felt promoted violence. In fact, he even declined to print a simple black shirt with white lettering that read, “Homosexuality is a sin.”

Blaine Adamson employs gay people in his business and has gay customers. He has even printed materials for a local band called Mother Jane whose lead singer is a lesbian. So you can see why he felt it was unfair to be sued for not printing one T-shirt that would promote homosexual activities. It is also worth mentioning that two lesbian printers in New Jersey voiced their support for him because they didn’t want to be forced to print message that would violate their consciences.

So far, he has been successful in the courts. A judge ruled that he has the freedom to print which messages he wanted to promote. An appeals court also agreed. Now the case has been appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

I hope the judges see this case for what it is. It is a nuisance suit that is a direct attack on his First Amendment rights.