The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear a case over whether a wedding website designer can decline to provide services to same-sex couples under Colorado’s anti-discrimination law. Lori Smith, a Christian graphic artist and webpage designer, is seeking to expand her services to create webpages for weddings but argues her religious convictions prevent her from making websites for same-sex couples. Her standpoint conflicts with Colorado’s civil rights laws requiring businesses to be accessible to all clients regardless of sexual orientation. The designer is “willing to work with all people regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, and gender,” her lawyers said in court filings. “But she cannot create websites that promote messages contrary to her faith, such as messages that condone violence or promote sexual immorality, abortion, or same-sex marriage.” Smith’s case is largely a continuation of the unresolved legal questions brought in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, which concerned whether a business owner could decline to make a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Jack Phillips , a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for two men, won the case in a 7-2 decision in 2018 after the justices found that he was unfairly treated by […]
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