(Unsplash)
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday, 6-3, that the state of Colorado, under the First Amendment, cannot force a web designer to promote same-sex weddings in violation of her Christian beliefs.
The case involved Lorie Smith, owner of 3030 Creative, who wanted to promote weddings with her web designs, but was threatened by the state of Colorado which ordered her to adopt the LGBT ideology and promote same-sex weddings if she promoted any.
"Religion and work are not at odds," said Eric Rassbach, of Becket, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case.
"Yesterday, the court protected religious workers in secular workplaces, and today the court protected religious business owners. That is good news for religious Americans of all stripes.”"
Becket explained, "The ruling corrects a lower court decision that failed to respect speech with 'political and religious significance.' Four times, the court recognized the distinct 'significance' of such speech."
"Colorado seems to be a reluctant student when it comes to the First Amendment," Rassbach explained. "How many cases will Colorado have to lose before it stops trying to squelch speech? The court’s ruling today emphasizes just how quixotic it is to force conformity of thought on Americans."
Colorado, in fact, has a reputation for attacking and threatening Christians and their beliefs, and lost several years ago at the Supreme Court when the justices – with a left-leaning majority at the time – condemned its "hostility" to Christianity.
Meridian Baldacci, of the Family Policy Alliance, noted, "Today’s win at the court is an affirmation of what we’ve always known: that no American should be forced to speak or create in violation of their deeply held beliefs. This decision is a bold repudiation against the Left’s agenda that wants to force Americans to affirm and even celebrate the tenets of LGBT ideology – and other radical beliefs – or face castigation."
According to the Thomas More Society, the case resembled its defense of Cathy Miller, proprietor of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, who was accused by that state of similar offenses – declining to violate her faith by promoting same-sex weddings.
She was hauled into court twice by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and her freedom to exercise her sincere religious beliefs eventually was affirmed by a California Superior Court ruling.
WND is now on Trump's Truth Social! Follow us @WNDNews
"There’s a certain irony here," said Charles LiMandri, Thomas More Society special counsel, "that laws intended to protect individuals from religious discrimination were used to discriminate against both Cathy Miller and Lorie Smith for their sincerely held religious beliefs."
Paul Jonna, Thomas More Society special counsel, explained, "We are optimistic that the ruling in 303 Creative will protect all creative professionals involved in the wedding industry, including Cathy Miller. The Supreme Court’s ruling makes abundantly clear that there is room in our great county for people of all views on marriage."
Smith was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, and spokeswoman Kirsten Waggoner said, "The U.S. Supreme Court rightly reaffirmed that the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe. The court reiterated that it’s unconstitutional for the state to eliminate from the public square ideas it dislikes, including the belief that marriage is the union of husband and wife."
She continued, "Disagreement isn’t discrimination, and the government can’t mislabel speech as discrimination to censor it. Lorie works with everyone, including clients who identify as LGBT. As the court highlighted, her decisions to create speech always turn on what message is requested, never on who requests it. The ruling makes clear that nondiscrimination laws remain firmly in place, and that the government has never needed to compel speech to ensure access to goods and services."
Before this decision, the ADF explained, the LGBT ideology was used to force New Mexico photographer Elaine Huguenin out of business, floral artist Barronelle Stutzman to retire, and Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado to face years of persecution by the state, persecution that continues even now.
Smith said, "This is a victory not just for me but for all Americans across our great country—for those who share my beliefs and for those who hold different beliefs. Whether you’re an LGBT graphic designer, a Jewish calligrapher, an atheist speechwriter, or a pro-life photographer, the government shouldn’t force any of us to say something we don’t believe."
Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, which filed briefs in the case, said, "This is a great victory for the right of individual speech and expression. The state cannot force people to convey a government-approved message against their religious beliefs or individual choices. Film, theater, art, and other creative expression would not exist if the government could censor the message."
There were activists on the other side, who predictably disapproved of the First Amendment's protections for speech.
David Brown, of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, complained about the newly created "license to discrimination."
He said, "This ruling is out of step with the vast majority of Americans – 80% of whom support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and 65% of whom reject allowing businesses to use religion as a basis for denying services."
David Cole, of the ACLU, said, "The court’s decision opens the door to any business that claims to provide customized services to discriminate against historically-marginalized groups. The decision is fundamentally misguided."
IMPORTANT NOTE: It's hard to believe it's really happening, but it is. Male athletes pretend to be females, dominate their sports, and are thereby rapidly destroying women’s competitive sports worldwide. Convicted male criminals suddenly claim to be transgender so they can be confined in a women’s prison and sexually abuse the female inmates there. Men claiming to be female likewise invade women’s locker rooms, bathrooms, schools, dormitories, sororities, shelters, spas and social organizations – and in the process steal women’s scholarships, advancement, honors and myriad other opportunities.
Meanwhile, transgender groomers and recruiters in schools and on social media platforms like TikTok are continually feeding and expanding the current “mass hysteria” craze that has already led countless teen girls to take testosterone and undergo double mastectomies in a pathetic effort to become boys. No wonder the CDC reports 3 in 5 teen girls say they feel “persistently sad or hopeless” and almost 1 in 3 say they have seriously considered committing suicide.
All of this on top of the radical left’s renewed obsession with killing women’s unborn babies via abortion.
The “woke” left’s maniacal attack on women and girls, virtually unreported by the rest of the media, is the entire focus of the sensational June issue of WND’s critically acclaimed WHISTLEBLOWER magazine, titled “THE LEFT’S TOTAL WAR ON WOMEN.” WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post 'No American should be forced to speak in violation of their deeply held beliefs' appeared first on WND.
