Owners of a wedding venue who were fined $13,000 for violating the state's anti-discrimination law argued Monday that they should be legally allowed to follow their Christian faith.

The owners of Liberty Ridge Farm north of Albany refused to host the 2013 wedding of Melisa and Jennie McCarthy, citing their religious beliefs.

Now the business owned by Robert and Cynthia Gifford is appealing a ruling from the state's Division of Human Rights that they violated New York law and seeking to have the fine reversed.

'It would violate the Giffords' faith to facilitate this union,' attorney Caleb Dalton told a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.

Robert Gifford looks on as his wife Cynthia speaks to reporters on Monday, in Albany, New York

The Giffords, owners of Liberty Ridge Farm north of Albany refused to host the 2013 wedding of Melisa and Jennie McCarthy, citing their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman

Hurt: Jennie and Melisa McCarthy recorded the conversation in which the Giffords turned down their wedding party and filed a formal complaint with the state. Last year, they received compensation

The state's division of human rights ruled that the Gifford's business violated New York's anti-discrimination law and fined them $13,000. They are appealing the ruling

Dalton, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said their faith does not allow them to participate in a marriage that is not between one man and one woman.

Mariko Hirose, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the McCarthys, who now live in the New York City area, were 'heartbroken' when they were turned away from the Giffords' farm.

Hirose and a lawyer for the human rights division argued that the business cannot be exempted from having to follow anti-discrimination laws.

'We should not have a situation where people feel they are second-class because of their sexual orientation,' attorney Michael Swirsky told the court.

The judges on the mid-level appeals court are expected to issue a ruling within the next two months.

The Giffords attended the hearing, and afterwards Cynthia Gifford told reporters they are asking the court to respect the freedoms America was built upon.

Speaking out: The couple, who married at a different venue in 2013, were devastated, their lawyer said

A Facebook user posted an angry comment on the venue's page, insisting 'gay dollars are just as green as straight dollars'

'When the government tells you what to say and punishes you if you don't, it's very frightening,' she said. 'And all of us Americans should be scared about this, no matter where we stand on the issue.'

'We respect and care for everyone!' Mrs Gifford, 55, told the Post. 'We had an openly gay man working for us this past season. We've had a woman who's transitioning to be a man. We don't discriminate against anyone.'

Still, when Melisa McCarthy - then Melisa Erwin - contacted Mrs Gifford in 2012 and asked to have their summer 2013 wedding at the farm, she said no.

'When we asked why it was just, 'That's what my husband and I decided. We've been married a long time and it's great you're getting married and all, but you can't do it here',' McCarthy told WNYT at the time.

'We were so excited when we found Liberty Ridge that we called our mothers and told them we knew where we were getting married,' said Jennifer said to the North Country Gazette.

'When we were rejected for being a same-sex couple, beyond losing what we thought was the perfect venue, I felt judged and dismissed for who I was and for my relationship. Nobody should feel like that.'

'It is difficult to describe how heartbreaking it is when someone says to you that, because you are marrying someone of the same sex, you cannot have the options that heterosexual couples have,' said Melisa McCarthy.

'We will do whatever we can to make sure that no other couple has to deal with the same feelings of sadness and anxiety that we wrestled with.'

The Giffords were unaware that Jennifer McCarthy had recorded the conversation and the same-sex couple, now both 31, filed a formal complaint with the state Division of Human Rights.

After the case became public, the farm suffered a backlash and they have been forced to lose some employees due to financial hardship, the Post reported.

Presiding Justice Karen Peters of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Department speaks during a hearing

Turned away: The couple had been hosting events at Liberty Ridge Farm, pictured, for 15 years. Since the ruling, they have stopped doing weddings altogether

Although the McCarthys were vindicated for standing up for their rights, a national anti-LGBT organization joined Liberty Ridge to continue to fight on behalf of discrimination

Angry messages posted on the venue's Facebook page at the time suggested the McCarthys were not the only gay couple to have been denied access.

'Apparently if you are a same sex couple, you are not welcome as this place discriminates,' wrote one user, Denine Dorniak. 'Gay dollars are just as green as straight dollars.'

The Giffords were eventually ordered to pay $10,000 to the state and $1,500 to each of the brides for their mental anguish.

The couple eventually got married at another venue.

'They were devastated when they heard that Liberty Ridge Farm would not take their business because of who they are,' said their lawyer, Mariko Hirose, of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The Giffords live at the farm with their 18-year-old daughter and 22-year-old son and have hosted an annual fall event there - including a maize maze and pumpkin patches - for 15 years.

'We've gone from tolerance to compulsion,' the Giffords' lawyer, James Trainor, told the Post.

'State government should not be forcing people to violate their own religious beliefs, nor should they be forced to make a choice between making a living and violating their own faith.'

The McCarthys were not in court Monday. Melisa McCarthy said in a statement released by the NYCLU that they feel compelled to continue their fight.

'We will do whatever we can to make sure that no other couple has to deal with the same feelings of sadness and anxiety that we wrestled with from the moment we realized that, though the laws have changed, same-sex couples are far from being treated as equal,' she said.