Gay couple cited in ‘Christian’ graphic artist lawsuit doesn’t exist
dallasvoice.comLorie Smith, a graphic artist and website designer in Colorado, right, accompanied by her lawyer, Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, second from left, speaks outside the Supreme Court in Washington in December 2022, after her case was heard before the Supreme Court. (AP File Photo/Andrew Harnik) ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN SLEVINAssociated Press A Christian graphic artist who the Supreme Court said can refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples pointed during her lawsuit to a request from a man named “Stewart” and his husband-to-be.
The twist? Stewart says it never happened. The other twist? Stewart is not gay. In fact, he has been married to a woman for years and is, himself, a graphic artist who would have designed his own invitations and wedding website had he needed them.
The revelation has raised questions about how Lorie Smith’s case was allowed to proceed all the way to the nation’s highest court with such an apparent misrepresentation and whether the state of Colorado, which lost the case last week, has any legal recourse.
It has served as another distraction at the end of a highly polarizing term for a Supreme Court marked by ethical questions and contentious rulings along ideological lines that rejected affirmative action in higher education and President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts.
