A bigger, more problematic issue
NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear ‘303 Creative’ appeal as a free speech issue has implications for nondiscrimination laws protecting all minorities LISA KEEN | Keen News ServiceLisa.Keen@mac.com The U.S.
Supreme Court sometimes makes significant moves long before it hears arguments in a case. Such is true in a blockbuster LGBTQ case pending before the court in its newly-opened 2022-23 session.
In the appeal of 303 Creative v. Elenis, the anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom asked the court to decide whether a business could claim a religious exemption to a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations.
The court declined to answer that question. But the court did, instead, accept the appeal to answer a different question: Whether a business could claim a free speech right to discriminate. “This is a case about commercial conduct, not speech,” said Mary Bonauto, GLAD civil rights project director and lead author of a brief urging the court to rule that the Free Speech clause does not exempt businesses from complying with public accommodation laws.
