Gay couple who received religious pamphlets instead of wedding programmes sues Vistaprint
Andrew Borg and Stephen Heasley had received religious bulletins titled: "Understanding Temptation: Fight the good fight of the faith."
Two gay men have sued digital printing company, Vistaprint after receiving 80 pamphlets about sin and temptation instead of the customized wedding programmes that they had ordered. The incident took place on the eve of their wedding day in September 2017.
Andrew Borg, 31, and Stephen Heasley, 39, had received the religious bulletins titled: "Understanding Temptation: Fight the good fight of the faith."
"Satan entices your flesh with evil desires" and sin is the result of your failure to resist the temptation," the pamphlet read. "It is an act of rebellion against God's holiness."
The couple sued Vistaprint months after they got married in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
According to the lawsuit, the two said that Vistaprint had discriminated against them because of their sexual orientation, the New York Daily News reported.
The now-married couple said that the programmes they had designed featured the lyrics from "Treasure" by Above and Beyond, a picture of hydrangeas and a list of the wedding party. But in reality, they never received the 100 pack of programmes which they had actually ordered for $80 (£58.08) for.
Although the pamphlets did not make any direct reference to the couple, their lawyers say that both of them were convinced that the message was based on their sexuality, the New York Daily News report added.
A Vistaprint spokesperson in a statement said that they have launched an internal investigation into the matter.
"Vistaprint would never discriminate against customers for their sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on being a company that celebrates diversity and enables customers all over the world to customize products for their special events," the spokesperson said.
"We have just been made aware of this incident in the last few hours. We understand how upsetting it would be for anyone to receive materials such as these the night before their wedding and we have immediately launched an internal investigation."
The lawsuit comes just a month after the case of a Colorado baker who had refused to make a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
