News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
PHOENIX (CNS) — Arizona’s Catholic bishops praised the state Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 decision upholding the refusal by two Christian artists to create custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples based on their religious belief in marriage as being between one man and one woman. “We are grateful that the importance…
WASHINGTON – The Arizona Supreme Court Monday sided with two Phoenix women who said a city law aimed at preventing discrimination would have forced them to violate their Christian faith by creating custom invitations for same-sex weddings. A narrow majority of the court said that the religious convictions of Brush…
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…
The Arizona Supreme Court sided with two Phoenix business owners who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds, with the court saying such objections “may seem old-fashioned, or even offensive to some,” but they are still covered by the Arizona Constitution’s protection of free speech. (Photo by Amy Teegan/Creative Commons) Breanna…
(CNN) — A 2013 Phoenix law that adds "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance violated the freedom of speech and religious beliefs of two business owners, the Arizona Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling Monday. Wedding invitation designers Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners…
Source: National Archives via AP September 17 th is Constitution Day. One wonders how many Americans will take notice. After all, no one is getting a day off, there aren’t any mattress sales, and nobody ever got insta-famous talking about our founding document. Maybe that needs to change. Ours is…
All quiet on the Arizona Supreme Court building steps following the September 16 ruling. In a 4-3 opinion, The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Phoenix-based Brush & Nib Studio, a small business that refused to produce wedding invitations for LGBTQ couples. (This is a breaking news story,…
Screen capture from the video “Getting to know the artists of Brush & Nib” The Arizona State Supreme Court has ruled Phoenix-based company Brush & Nib, which designs custom wedding invitations, may turn away same-sex couples looking to engage their services. According to the Phoenix New Times , the owners…
AmberLaneRoberts/iStock/Getty Images Plus The Arizona Supreme Court granted businesses a right to discriminate against same-sex couples on Monday. By a 4–3 vote, the court carved an exemption into Phoenix’s human rights ordinance to let businesses refuse to sell custom wedding invitations to gay customers. The decision is rooted in the…
POLITICS In narrow ruling on Phoenix law protecting LGBT residents, court says Brush & Nib owners don’t have to create invitations for same-sex marriages. PHOENIX — Editor’s Note: The above video is an interview with the Brush & Nib owners from earlier this year. In a narrow ruling on a…
(Facebook Photo/Brush & Nib Studio) The Arizona Supreme Court issued an eagerly anticipated ruling in Brush & Nib et al. v. City of Phoenix on Monday. It decided that a person’s deeply held religious belief overrides the need to treat all people equally, including those in same-sex marriages, at least…
The Arizona Supreme Court will decide how much leeway business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious beliefs. PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court will decide Monday how much leeway — if any — business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious…
In democratic pluralist and secular societies, freedom of religion is a fundamental right to be enjoyed by all individuals. The most unique feature of this human right is the extent to which it is premised on personal belief. For the most part in Uganda, under the 1995 constitution, different faiths…
Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers is seeking an OK to refuse service to gay couples. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key) After obtaining a perfunctory decision last year in her favor, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Washington State is back before the U.S. Supreme Court with a renewed…
The Arizona Supreme Court will decide how much leeway business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious beliefs. PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court will decide Monday how much leeway — if any — business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious…
Breanna Koski, left, and Joanna Duka of Brush & Nib Studio are challenging a Phoenix ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. They do not want to prepare custom wedding invitations and other products for same-sex nuptials. (Photo courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom) The Arizona Supreme Court will decide…
{Originally posted to the author’s website } Imagine that a defiantly secular, left-of-center government is formed later this fall, comprising Blue & White, Israel Beytenu, Labor-Gesher, the Democratic Union and the United Arab List – and that it sets out to “fully democratize” Israel. December 2019: Justice Minister Avigdor Liberman…
The Arizona Supreme Court will decide Monday how much leeway — if any — business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious beliefs. Officially the case is whether the city of Phoenix can enforce its ordinance which makes it illegal to discriminate in providing goods or…
Supporters for both Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, and gay plaintiffs Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed made their voices heard after Tuesday’s court hearing. By The Richland floral shop owner at the center of a 6-year fight over religious freedom is once again asking the country’s highest court to…
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Supreme Court justices Thomas R. Lee, Constandinos Himonas, John A. Pearce and Paige Petersen, from left, listen to Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant give the state of the judiciary speech to the legislature in the House chamber on the first day of the…
Nicole Russell is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Times, The American Spectator, and Parents Magazine. First Amendment advocates are celebrating a ruling that marks the first federal court victory to address the free…
Tweet reddit Upvote Downvote Photo image from Shutterstock. A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a challenge to Minnesota’s anti-bias law by videographers who say they can’t be required to make same-sex wedding videos because it would violate their religious beliefs. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…
Thomas Jipping Thomas Jipping is deputy director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in a case arising from Minnesota strikes the right balance between First Amendment rights and…
Recent articles supporting the Commissioners’ decision to surrender First Amendment prayer rights contain flawed assumptions. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” In the recent Supreme Court Case, Greece v. Galloway,…
Judge David Stras, a Trump appointee, wrote for the 2-1 majority opinion, where he noted that Minnesota can’t force “free and independent individuals to endorse ideas they find objectionable.” Alliance Defending Freedom Carl and Angel Larsen are a St. Cloud, Minnesota couple who run a media business called Telescope Media…