Lorie Smith, a 38-year-old evangelical Christian web designer who believes only in marriage as a union between a man and a woman, might refuse to design websites for gay weddings. Conservative-majority Supreme Court allows denying services to people who marry the same sex. The designer argued that no one could coerce her under First Amendment freedom of speech.
“First Amendment protections are available to all, not just speakers whose motives the government deems reasonable. In this case, Colorado intends to compel a person to speak in a way that is consistent with their viewpoints but tests their conscience on a matter of great importance,” read the sentence, which carries the votes for the six Conservatives has judges and against the three progressives.
The case (303 Creative LLC v. Elenis) has become an example of the culture wars that the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority of its own, is willing to lead to the right, despite having something pre-packaged from the start. Smith does not yet have a wedding website service and has not been commissioned by any gay couple. But she claimed she wants to launch the service and issue a warning stating she totally refuses to serve customers at gay weddings, which Colorado law prohibits.
At the oral hearing, all parties admitted that no one could force the designer to create a website that would deliver pro-gay marriage messages. But Smith refused to provide the service even if he didn’t have to add those kinds of messages; Even if the design you commissioned is the same one you have already created for a heterosexual couple, or if it only contains data such as the couple’s names, venue, accommodation options, wedding list and other logistical details.
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