The United States Supreme Court, Friday, ruled in favour of an evangelical Christian website designer who refused to work on same-sex weddings.
According to NBC, a team of judges led by Neil Gorsuch found that the plaintiff, Lorie Smith, as a creative professional, has a First Amendment free expression right to refuse to promote views she disagrees with.
The court also noted that Ms Smith is immune from prosecution under Colorado’s anti-discrimination statute for refusing to develop websites for homosexual couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Colorado enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT people. However, public commentators have considered this latest decision as a setback to LGBTQ rights across the country.
“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 for the court.
Mr Gorsuch, who wrote a 2020 ruling that expanded LGBTQ rights in the employment context, said that public accommodation laws play a vital role in protecting individual civil rights.
“At the same time, this court has also recognised that no public accommodation law is immune from the demands of the Constitution. In particular, this court has held public accommodations statutes can sweep too broadly when deployed to compel speech,” he added.
According to reports, Ms Smith, who opposes same-sex marriage for religious reasons, sued the state of Colorado in 2016 because she claimed she would welcome clients planning opposite-sex weddings but turn down requests from same-sex couples who wanted the same service.
She stated that as a creative professional, she had the freedom of speech to reject projects that go against her beliefs.
