SCOTUS to Hear Case of Anti-LGBTQ Web Designer
Free speech case challenges Colorado’s anti-discrimination law
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
The US Supreme Court
granted a petition on
February 22 that was
fi led by Alliance Defending
Freedom (ADF), an anti-LGBT
religious litigation group, seeking
to overturn a ruling by the 10th
Circuit, which held that Colorado
has a compelling interest to prevent
discrimination against same-sex
couples by businesses that provide
services for weddings suffi cient to
overcome the free speech rights of
the businesses.
Lori Smith is a website designer
who styles herself an “artist” with
unique skills in custom-designing
websites for her customers. She
claims that she wanted to expand
her business to design wedding
websites, but consistent with her
religious views about marriage, she
did not want to design websites for
A Supreme Court case involving an anti-LGBTQ web designer will probably be argued next fall during its
October 2022 term.
same-sex couples. Furthermore,
she wanted to be able to announce
on her website her policy of limiting
her wedding website business.
Smith’s business, 303 Creative
LLC, is based in Colorado, and is
subject to the provisions of Colorado’s
Anti-Discrimination Act,
which prohibits discrimination
because of sexual orientation,
and also provides that businesses
REUTERS/JON CHERRY
may not publish communications
announcing that they will deny
services or goods based on the
grounds prohibited by the state.
In an earlier case, Masterpiece
Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights
Commission, the Commission
ruled that a baker’s refusal to design
a wedding cake for a same-sex
couple violated the anti-discrimination
provision, but ultimately
LEGAL
the US Supreme Court overturned
that decision in 2018. However, the
court did not rule directly in Masterpiece
Cakeshop that the baker’s
religious views or freedom of speech
compelled the Commission to rule
in his favor, while commenting that
generally businesses with religious
objects are not exempt from antidiscrimination
laws.
Claiming to be fearful of possible
prosecution, Smith fi led suit in
federal court seeking a declaratory
judgment that her First Amendment
freedom of religion and freedom of
speech would protect her from prosecution
under the Colorado statute
if she expanded into the wedding
website business, declined requests
to design same-sex wedding websites,
and publicized her policy.
This case will likely be argued
during the October Term, with a
decision coming in the winter or
spring of 2023.
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