GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Protesters showed up in front of a new wedding venue on the city's West Side Monday night to protest their policy against hosting same-sex nuptials.
The Broadway Avenue was purchased in 2018 by Nick and Hannah Natale, who have worked in the wedding industry together for years.
They renovated the former church extensively over the past several years.
"It's been a labor of love for sure to get to this point. We've only been open for a couple of weeks, and God has given us the opportunity to really make this place happen. We felt like it was something that Grand Rapids needed," Hannah told FOX 17 Monday.
Several screenshots began circulating on social media last week indicating the couple were not going to allow same-sex couples to get married at their venue.
There was swift backlash online regarding their policy decision.
“It's incredibly disappointing," said Meghan Cytacki-Lewis, who helped organize a protest Monday night against the venue's policy.
“I think this is outright homophobia and discrimination.”
The Broadway Avenue began receiving messages all over their social media accounts critical of their decision.
“They just say 'if you don’t like it, don’t go there,' but the point is that we build a community that is inclusive and safe, and people feel welcome in," said Jessica Krebs, who also helped organize Monday's protest.
"This is just one of many, many things where the discrimination really impacts us.”
The Natale's ended up posting a statement on their Instagram page last week, which said in part, "Our business is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication and is a reflection of who we are, and the values and beliefs we hold from our faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, we would like our business to remain true to our Christian faith and this includes marriage."
FOX 17 spoke with the couple Monday evening as they were setting up for an open house event they were hosting at the venue.
“Our decision to how we're going to run our business is based on our belief in God. It is not rooted in hate towards any person or group of people. It's just our belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, and it's hard to civilly disagree nowadays, and it's hard to take in all the hateful comments,” Nick Natale said.
His wife adding, "that's how we run things at our home, and this is how we wanted to run our business as well... we just truly believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's what we would like to serve here as well.”
The couple says they will continue to run their business as they see fit, despite calls from protesters to change their policy and issue a public apology regarding their decision to implement it.
"If you’re going to be serving the community with a service, it should be for everybody," Jessica Krebs said Monday.
There is currently a case being considered by the Michigan Supreme Court in regards to a strikingly similar situation.
Rouch World is a wedding venue and park located in Sturgis, Michigan, which refused to serve same-sex couples.
Michigan Department of Civil Rights began investigating the business, and in turn, Rouch World sued the governmental department.
The issue arises from Michigan's 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which states nobody can be discriminated based upon a person's "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status".
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel testified before the court on behalf of the department of civil rights, arguing that the mention of "sex" should be interpreted to extend to anyone's sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Michigan is a state with a proud history of civil rights," Nessel said during her testimony in March.
“Countless Michiganders have gained benefit from Elliott-Larsen, safely wrapped in the cloak of equal treatment. Not so, however, for the hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”
The state supreme court will soon issue an opinion as to whether or not the term "sex" should apply to a person's sexual orientation and gender identity.
Protesters near The Broadway Avenue Monday say they will continue to insist that the owners re-evaluate their policies, and are hopeful to have a positive impact for those who may have felt hurt by the public discourse around not accepting same-sex couples.
Meghan Cytacki-Lewis told FOX 17, "we do ask that they publicly apologize, we do ask that they rescind their very discriminatory policy, and reconsider their own personal perspectives as well on how they’re preaching hate rather than acceptance and inclusivity.
FOX 17 reached out to the city of Grand Rapids Monday to inquire as to whether the venue’s policy would fall under a violation of the city’s human rights ordinance.
We received a reply from a city spokesperson Tuesday afternoon stating, “At this time, we are unable to speculate if the policy violates the City’s Human Rights Ordinance. As outlined in the ordinance, staff must first investigate to determine if a violation has occurred. As of 3 p.m. today, the City’s Office of Equity and Engagement has officially received four complaints and has begun processing them.”
