The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a major case that pits LGBTQ rights against a claim that the constitutional right to free speech exempts artists from anti-discrimination laws, Reuters reported.
An evangelical Christian web designer refuses to provide her services for same-sex marriages.
The justices are set to hear Denver-area business owner Lorie Smith’s appeal seeking an exemption from a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and other factors.
Lower courts ruled in favor of Colorado and against Smith, including the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021.
The state of Colorado, civil rights groups and numerous legal scholars have said that endorsing Smith’s free speech arguments could lead to widespread discrimination against LGBTQ people and others.
Smith claims that she has a right as an artist to free speech and that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act violates this.
This is not the first time a case like this has landed at the Supreme Court. In 2018, there was a narrow ruling in favor of a Christian baker, also in Denver, named Jack Phillips, who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, citing religious beliefs.
The court in that case stopped short of carving out a free speech exemption to anti-discrimination laws.
But the Supreme Court is much more conservative now, stacked with judges on the right. It has become increasingly supportive of religious rights and related free speech claims in recent years.
Colorado said in its legal brief to the Supreme Court that endorsing Smith would mean it would encompass objections motivated by ignorance, whim, bigotry, caprice, and more, including pure expressions of racial, sexist, or anti-religious hatred.
There are many states with laws that ban discrimination in public accommodations, including in areas such as housing, hotels, retail businesses, restaurants, and educational institutions.
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