Story highlights Curt Freed and Robert Ingersoll sued Arlene's Flowers in 2013

Florist argued anti-discrimination law violated her first amendment rights

(CNN) A Washington florist violated the state's anti-discrimination law when she denied a same-sex couple wedding services on the basis of her faith, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The case drew national attention in 2013 when the couple sued Arlene's Flowers for refusing to provide flowers for their wedding. As state bans on same-sex marriage were crumbling and more couples were seeking wedding services, it was one of several high-profile legal challenges to arise from the backlash to marriage equality.

The unanimous decision upholds a lower court ruling. With marriage equality now the law of the land, the ruling joins a growing body of case law rejecting business owners' claims of first amendment protections as grounds for discrimination, said Elizabeth Gill, the ACLU's senior staff attorney and co-counsel for the couple.

"It sends a really strong message that for the state of Washington inclusion and acceptance is incredibly important," she said. "It's an important contribution to the growing body of case law that rejects the idea that people operating in the public space can discriminate."

Curt Freed and Robert Ingersoll got engaged in December 2012, shortly after Washington began recognizing same-sex marriages. Longtime patrons of Arlene's Flowers in Richland, they approached owner Barronelle Stutzman about arrangements for their wedding.

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