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☆ Supreme Court leans toward web designer in gay rights case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsSupreme Court leans toward web designer in gay rights casePostedThe high court's conservative majority appeared ready to rule that Denver business owner Lorie Smith can refuse services for same-sex couples getting married.

☆ Supreme Court case on same-sex marriage could allow LGBTQ discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Caroline Mala Corbin | Caroline Mala Corbin Is A Professor Of Law | Dean S Distinguished Scholar At The University Of Miami School Of Law. She Is A First Amendment Expert Who Has | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Does a website design company have a First Amendment right to discriminate against same-sex couples? But the Supreme Court reached no conclusion on the free speech claim and instead ruled in favor of the bakery on narrow religious grounds. The challenge here is how to classify 303 Creative’s making or refusing to make a website for same-sex couples. If so, it does not trigger, never mind violate, the free speech clause. It would extend to companies that oppose it for nonreligious reasons but can argue that providing their speech-based services to same-sex couples compelled them to express a message of support for that marriage.

☆ Supreme Court Hears Arguments Pitting Gay Rights Against Free Speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian and web designer, considers compliance with Colorado’s antidiscrimination law akin to the state compelling her to declare support for same-sex marriage. WASHINGTON—Two strands of recent Supreme Court jurisprudence clash on Monday, as the justices weigh whether a website designer’s free-speech rights entitle her to turn away customers seeking online services for same-sex weddings, despite state law protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination. The Supreme Court in 2015 held that same-sex couples enjoy the same marriage rights as those of opposite sexes, culminating a line of decisions beginning in the 1990s that extended legal equality to LGBT Americans. Over much of the same period, the court has been expanding religious rights, in decisions that have given priority to religious exercise over secular government interests.

☆ Alito jokes about Black Santa and Ashley Madison during Supreme Court arguments
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Justice Samuel Alito joked about Black Santa, children in Klan robes and dating websites as the Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case weighing a web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings because she is a conservative evangelical Christian. David Zalubowski / AP fileEric Olson, the Colorado solicitor general, said that the Black Santa wouldn’t have to follow through with the request since KKK outfits are not protected characteristics under accommodation laws. Alito quipped, “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? Kagan, who is Jewish, jumped in to confirm that Alito was correct, which drew laughter from those in attendance. Conservative justices on the high court appeared sympathetic toward the web designer’s bid as they heard arguments for more than two hours Monday.

☆ Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Pitting Gay Rights Against Free Speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian and web designer, considers compliance with Colorado’s antidiscrimination law akin to the state compelling her to declare support for same-sex marriage. WASHINGTON—Two strands of recent Supreme Court jurisprudence will clash on Monday, as the justices weigh whether a website designer’s free-speech rights entitle her to turn away customers seeking online services for same-sex weddings, despite state law protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination. The Supreme Court in 2015 held that same-sex couples enjoy the same marriage rights as those of opposite sexes, culminating a line of decisions beginning in the 1990s that extended legal equality to LGBT Americans. Over much of the same period, the court has been expanding religious rights, in decisions that have given priority to religious exercise over secular government interests.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday hears the latest clash between religious conservatives and LGBTQ rights as it weighs a conservative evangelical Christian web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings. Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020 — to the surprise of many court-watchers — ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

[1/2] Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. The court in that case stopped short of carving out a free speech exemption to anti-discrimination laws. Like Phillips, Smith is represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious rights group. The Supreme Court did not take up one aspect of her challenge to Colorado law based on religious rights also protected by the First Amendment, focusing on free speech instead. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has become increasingly supportive of religious rights and related free speech claims in recent years even as it has backed LGBT rights in other cases.

☆ Supreme Court's conservative majority appears sympathetic to Christian graphic designer who refuses to create websites for same-sex weddings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Supreme Court heard a free-speech challenge from a Christian graphic designer based in Colorado. Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, refuses to create websites for same-sex weddings. At the heart of the case is a Colorado law that forbids businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation. "As a Christian, I can't separate my faith from who I am," Smith told Insider in a recent interview. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, by June.

☆ Supreme Court hears case of Colorado wedding website refusing gay marriage work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case involving a Colorado web design company whose desire to avoid doing work for same-sex weddings runs afoul of the state's public accommodation anti-discrimination law. Conservative justices appeared sympathetic to First Amendment arguments made by a lawyer for the design company's owner. The court will likely decide the case by next spring or early summer. Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Kristen Waggoner, the lawyer for company owner Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian opposed to gay marriage. asked Sotomayor, a liberal, as she sat feet away from conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, a Black man who is married to a white woman.

Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Alliance Defending Freedom, which also represented Phillips, has had success arguing religious rights cases at the Supreme Court in recent years. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020, to the surprise of many court-watchers, ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

☆ Web designer opposed to gay marriage at center of U.S. Supreme Court clash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/4] Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. She argues that Colorado anti-discrimination law violates free speech rights by forcing artists - including web designers - to express messages through their work that they oppose. The Supreme Court did not take up one aspect of her challenge to Colorado law based on religious rights also protected by the First Amendment. His legal battle with Colorado also reached the Supreme Court, which ruled narrowly in his favor in 2018. The state warned against endorsing Smith's view of free speech protections.

☆ They Want to Shut You (and 303 Creative) Up
▼ + stars: | 1791-12-15 | by ( Daniel Henninger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lorie Smith , meet Elon Musk, Donald Trump and millions of other Americans who for more than 200 years have been able to say what they think, protected by the First Amendment. Thursday, in fact, is the Bill of Rights’ 231st anniversary, the law of the land since the Virginia Legislature’s ratification vote Dec. 15, 1791. Colorado, which joined the Union in 1876, wants the Constitution’s free-speech right to be significantly altered and is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to create a list of First Amendment exceptions.

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