iStock photo PHOENIX, Ariz. (BP) — The Arizona Supreme Court last week rebuked states and municipalities that overzealously enforce anti-discrimination laws. The state’s highest court said the city of Phoenix cannot apply a nondiscrimination ordinance to the designers of custom wedding invitations. In a 5-3 decision, the court found Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush and Nib Studio, have the right to decline to create custom invitations for same-sex weddings. Justice Andrew Gould, writing for the majority, put forward a sweeping defense of free speech and religious liberty. See related Baptist Press story . "The rights of free speech and free exercise, so precious to this nation since its founding, are not limited to soft murmurings behind the doors of a person’s home or church, or private conversations with like-minded friends and family," Gould wrote. "These guarantees protect the right of every American to express their beliefs in public." Duka and Koski, who are Christians, have clients sign a contract with language noting that the calligraphers will not do work "that communicates ideas or messages … that contradict Biblical truth, demean others, endorse racism, incite violence, or promote any marriage besides marriage between one man and one […]
