Supreme Court Rules Against LGBTQ Community in 303 Creative v. Elenis
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a graphic designer who denied service to same-sex couples. In 303 Creative v. Elenis, the Court ruled that the First Amendment protected Lori Smith, who didn’t want to make wedding websites for same-sex couples despite Colorado’s nondiscrimination law, which bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. “The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority 6-3 decision.
The three dissenting, liberal justices deemed the decision as “unprecedented” and said in their dissent that the decision deems the LGBTQ community as second-class citizens. “Today the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people.
The immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.” LGBTQ organizations have admonished the decision. “This is a precedent-defying ruling that comes on the heels of the worst-ever legislative session for LGBTQ Americans, during which dozens of discriminatory laws were passed,” Rev.
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, said in a statement. “There is a coordinated, extremist attack on the dignity and equality of LGBTQ+ people happening in every sphere of our democracy – from the courts to state legislatures to local school boards, and
