(NewsNation) — The owner of a hair salon in Michigan said she will deny service to certain members of the LGBTQ+ community, just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in a favor of a Colorado businesswoman who argued a state law barring discrimination violated her free speech rights.
Christine Geiger, who owns Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City, seemed to compare transgender people to animals when she said in a Facebook post on her business page: “If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period.”
The Facebook page has since been deleted and the salon’s Instagram page made private, the Kansas City Star reported.
Geiger said she was exercising her free speech rights by denying service to certain customers who “request to have a particular pronoun.” She also referred to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as “Governor Witchmere.”
In June, the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 majority that a Colorado graphic designer is within her rights to deny service to same-sex couples seeking wedding websites because it would have compelled her to promote messages that contradict her religious beliefs.
Smith’s opponents warned that a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate, possibly refusing to serve Black, Jewish or Muslim customers, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants. But Smith and her supporters had said that a ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their beliefs.
The Michigan salon received backlash online and at one point had a 1.5-star rating on Google Reviews, screenshots posted to Facebook show. It now has only four total reviews and a 4-star rating.
In response to one of the negative reviews that appears to have been deleted, the salon owner said “LGB” clients are welcome, but “the rest of it is not something I support,” referencing transgender and queer people.
“This stance was taken to insure that clients have the best experience and I am admitting that since I am not willing to play the pronoun game or cater to requests outside of what I perceive as normal this probably isn’t the best option for that type of client,” the response stated. “This is a free country and I am not a slave to any narrative.”
A local LGBTQ+ advocacy group told the Detroit Free Press that the comments are not welcome in the city.
“Hate has shown time and time again to be a losing business strategy and we must not allow this blight to take root in our town,” Jocelyn Link, a chairperson at Polestar LGBTQ+ Community Center, told the newspaper. “Traverse City has a vibrant and thriving queer community thanks in part to our many allies and queer friendly businesses. Statements like the one from Studio 8 undermine the hard work that has been put in to make Traverse City the absolute best that it can be.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.