The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Colorado cannot require an evangelical Christian web designer to provide same-sex wedding websites that she argued was in violation of her conscience.
The court found that the state’s anti-discrimination law violates Lorie Smith’s free speech rights under the First Amendment by demanding that she create same-sex wedding websites if she wants to do so for opposite-sex unions.
The decision narrows states’ ability to apply public accommodation laws to artists, dealing a significant blow to LGBTQ advocates.
Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, writing for himself and the court’s five other conservatives.
“But, as this Court has long held, the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong,” Gorsuch wrote. “Of course, abiding the Constitution’s commitment to the freedom of speech means all of us will encounter ideas we consider ‘unattractive.’”
The court’s three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented.
“Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” Sotomayor wrote.
As Colorado and other states in recent years added LGBTQ protections to their anti-discrimination laws, various wedding-service providers have filed court challenges asserting violations of their First Amendment rights.
