Calligraphy is a form of expressive speech, and therefore the city of Phoenix cannot compel a local studio to create wedding invitations for same-sex couples, Arizona’s highest court ruled yesterday. The Arizona Supreme Court determined, 4-3, that any attempt to use Phoenix’s ordinances to punish Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka of Brush & Nib Studio for refusing to create custom wedding invitations for gay couples who were getting married violated both the state’s constitution and its Free Exercise of Religion Act. The contours of Brush & Nib Studio v. City of Phoenix are similar to others we’ve seen about whether bakers or florists could be forced under anti-discrimination laws to provide their goods and services to same-sex couples even if they have religious objections to recognizing or celebrating these weddings. Is the baking of a wedding cake or the arranging of flowers an expressive act and, therefore, protected speech? In this case, the judges were assisted by the fact that the product that Brush & Nib provides is unambiguously a form of speech. The company prepares custom invitations requesting the recipients to celebrate and honor the couple’s pending nuptials. They’re explicitly describing how awesome it is that the couple […]
