Michigan barber shop owner vows to ban LGBTQ+ customers from specifying their pronouns

The owner of a hair salon in Michigan has vowed to ban certain members of the LGBTQ+ community from specifying their pronouns, saying they are ‘not welcome’ in her salon.

“If a human identifies as anything other than male or female, please seek the services of a local pet groomer,” Studio 8 Hair Lab owner Christine Geiger wrote on Facebook.

Geiger wrote that she was simply exercising her right to “free speech,” as well as her ability as a business owner to “refuse services” to certain customers.

The post and account have since been deleted. The salon’s Instagram has been set to private with a caption explaining that they “don’t accommodate awakened ideologies.”

The woman’s post comes just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Christian web designer who refused to create a site for a gay couple.

This is the Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City: the salon at the center of the controversy

“If a human identifies as anything other than male or female, please seek the services of a local pet groomer,” Geiger wrote on Facebook.

In the since-deleted post, Geiger wrote that he didn’t care that he was violating a law passed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in March.

If you request that a particular pronoun be used, please note that we may simply refer to you as “hey you”. Regardless of MI HB 4744,” Geiger wrote.

In March, Governor Whitmer signed legislation that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

In her post, Geiger wrote that she, as a small business owner, “is not bound to any oaths like real estate agents are regarding discrimination.”

Beneath his inflammatory comments, he added the hashtag ‘take a stand’.

Her post caught the attention of local residents, who criticized her on local Facebook groups and reported her comments.

‘This is an actual post from a local salon in downtown Traverse City. You are allowed to have an opinion but you are not allowed to discriminate [sic]’ the caption read.

Geiger doubled down on his controversial shots below the post, saying he has’There are no problems with LGB. It’s the TQ+ that I’m not going to support.’

In her post, Geiger (pictured) wrote that she, as a small business owner, “is not bound to any oaths like real estate agents are regarding discrimination.”

This is the full post deleted by Christine Geiger on Facebook

In March, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (pictured) signed into law a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Continuing her lengthy comment, the salon owner said she believes the ‘+’ is code for ‘Underage Person AKA: Pedophile’.

The ‘+’ in the LGBTQ+ acronym actually represents members of the community who identify with an orientation or identity that is not included in the acronym.

“It’s an inclusive way to represent sexual and gender identities that letters and words still can’t fully describe,” GoodRX Health reports.

Geiger said that she is’she is not willing to play the pronoun game or accommodate requests outside of what I perceive to be normal for her clientele.

“Conservatives need to acclimate these awakened individuals to their new reality,” he wrote, adding that “I HAD ENOUGH of their ideologies.”

His original post and follow-up comments received a strong backlash from Traverse City residents, who said he was displaying “vile behavior.”

‘So much to “take a stand” – post was removed,’ wrote one person.

“Christine, people with your level of hate and ignorance are the reason so many people who are fighting take their own lives,” another angry Facebook user responded.

‘Imagine someone who is already struggling with how they feel and is on edge and then reads that they should go to a dog groomer?’ they wrote.

His original post and follow-up comments received strong backlash from Traverse City residents who said he was displaying “vile behavior.”

“Christine, people with your level of hate and ignorance are the reason so many people who are fighting take their own lives,” another angry Facebook user responded.

One person pointed out that the salon owner seemed to have removed the negative reviews.

The woman’s post comes just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Christian web designer who refused to create a site for a gay couple.

Geiger can take heart from the recent 6-4 Supreme Court ruling in which a Christian web designer refused to design a website for a same-sex wedding.

The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision that Denver-area business owner Lorie Smith was not allowed a waiver of a Colorado law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“First Amendment protections belong to everyone, not just speakers whose motives the government deems worthy,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.

“In this case, Colorado seeks to compel an individual to speak in a way that aligns with their views but challenges their conscience on a matter of great importance.”