{"id":1961263,"date":"2023-06-30T10:44:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T14:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-free-speech-decision-supreme-court-rules-government-cant-force-americans-like-lorie-smith-to-violate-religious-beliefs\/"},"modified":"2023-06-30T10:47:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T14:47:17","slug":"in-landmark-free-speech-decision-supreme-court-rules-government-cant-force-americans-like-lorie-smith-to-violate-religious-beliefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-free-speech-decision-supreme-court-rules-government-cant-force-americans-like-lorie-smith-to-violate-religious-beliefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court: Government Can&#8217;t Compel Americans to Violate Religious Beliefs"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-landmark-free-speech-decision-supreme-court-rules-government-cant-force-americans-like-lorie-smith-to-violate-religious-beliefs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1961263&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>The government can\u2019t force Americans like Colorado graphic artist Lorie Smith to affirm beliefs she does not hold, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/22pdf\/21-476_c185.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">6-3 decision<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>The First Amendment&#8217;s Protections for All<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1941659003\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-dc7c266215a1ea3d6f0b2e09dbffe762 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-dc7c266215a1ea3d6f0b2e09dbffe762\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p>Activists have tried for years to weaponize Colorado\u2019s sweeping \u201cantidiscrimination\u201d laws to punish people like Smith and Masterpiece Cakeshop cake artist Jack Phillips for wrongthink.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Neil Gorsuch, however, affirmed in the court\u2019s majority opinion that the government can\u2019t force Smith to make wedding websites celebrating same-sex couples because it would violate her constitutional right to exercise her Christian belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 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. Because Colorado seeks to deny that promise, the judgment is reversed,\u201d Gorsuch wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that Colorado commissioners displayed \u201ca clear and impermissible hostility toward [Phillips\u2019] sincere religious beliefs\u201d but the decision was light-handed. In fact, a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/01\/26\/colorado-condemns-jack-phillips-for-being-a-devout-christian-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fresh onslaught of activist-led lawsuits<\/a> proves that the ruling was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/17\/lgbt-activists-have-been-using-courts-to-harass-this-christian-baker-for-ten-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">utterly useless<\/a> not just for the religious liberty and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-push-to-rein-in-big-tech-as-federal-gears-grind-slow\/\" title=\"States Push to Rein in Big Tech as Federal Gears Grind Slow\">free speech rights<\/a> of Americans who believe in biblical marriage but also for <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/06\/the-never-ending-persecution-of-jack-phillips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the cakeshop owner himself.<\/a> <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0fe58c933ce2ebfed99f686f5ae95479 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0fe58c933ce2ebfed99f686f5ae95479\"><\/div>\n<p>Just as with <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2016\/09\/06\/how-a-cakemaker-became-an-enemy-of-the-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Phillips<\/a>, Smith did not deny members of her community websites because of who they are attracted to. Instead, the Christian simply rejects the idea that the government should compel her to affirm beliefs completely antithetical to her own with a form of speech \u2014 her websites. <\/p>\n<p>The state of Colorado tried to do exactly that with an <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/colorado\/2016\/title-24\/principal-departments\/article-34\/part-6\/section-24-34-601#:~:text=(2)%20(a)%20It,enjoyment%20of%20the%20goods%2C%20services%2C\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201canti-discrimination\u201d act<\/a> that barred Smith from publicly implying in a posted message that she will not execute customers\u2019 requests that violate her sincerely-held moral objections. <\/p>\n<p>Despite acknowledging that Smith was \u201cwilling to work with all people regardless of sexual orientation,\u201d the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adflegal.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-07\/7-26-21-303%20Creative-v-Elenis%20-Appellate%20Opinion.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled against<\/a>\u00a0the artist in July 2021. Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich, who penned a dissent to the decision, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/13\/4-years-ago-scotus-failed-to-protect-artists-from-compelled-speech-its-about-to-get-another-chance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">emphasized<\/a> that the Constitution \u201cneither forces Ms. Smith to compromise her beliefs nor condones the government doing so.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fact, this case illustrates exactly why we have a First Amendment,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-75fdd785d4a7f86d0b0943a27f3f3bd9 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-75fdd785d4a7f86d0b0943a27f3f3bd9\"><\/div>\n<p>By February 2022, the Supreme Court accepted Smith\u2019s appeal, which is backed by dozens of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/21\/21-476\/227004\/20220602160021452_21-476%20Brief%20States%20303%20Creative.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">states<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruz.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/sens-cruz-lee-lead-amicus-brief-in-303-creative-case-for-religious-liberty#:~:text=The%20amicus%20brief%20argues%20that,protected%20by%20the%20U.S.%20Constitution.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislators<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/case-files\/cases\/303-creative-llc-v-elenis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">organizations<\/a> that view this as a landmark free speech case. <\/p>\n<p>Justice Sonia Sotomayor\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/12\/05\/colorado-creative-supreme-court-lgbtq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a> during arguments in December 2022 that ruling in Smith\u2019s favor would be \u201cthe first time in the court\u2019s history\u201d that a business would be allowed to \u201crefuse to serve a customer based on race, sex, religion or sexual orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sotomayor and her fellow dissenters, Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, doubled down on this narrative in their portion of the decision. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe unattractive lesson of the majority opinion is this: What\u2019s mine is mine, and what\u2019s yours is yours. The lesson of the history of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/religious-freedom-advocates-celebrate-after-scotus-sides-with-catholic-group-on-gay-couple-foster-parents\/\" title=\"Religious Freedom Advocates Celebrate After SCOTUS Sides With Catholic Group On Gay Couple Foster Parents\">public accommodations laws<\/a> is altogether different. It is that in a free and democratic society, there can be no social castes. And for that to be true, it must be true in the public market,\u201d Sotomayor wrote.<\/p>\n<p>As my colleague David Harsanyi <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/05\/the-future-of-the-first-amendment-hinges-on-the-303-creative-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a>, Sotomayor\u2019s claim that the court\u2019s decision \u201cgrants<br \/>a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class\u201d is \u201cthe lie at the heart of the debate.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Gorsuch also addressed the lie, which falsely conflates the rights of business owners to refuse<em> certain services<\/em> with refusing <em>certain people<\/em>, at the conclusion of the opinion. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, as this Court has long held, the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong,\u201d Gorsuch retorted. \u201cOf course, abiding the Constitution\u2019s commitment to the freedom of speech means all of us will encounter ideas we consider \u2018unattractive,\u2019 \u2018misguided, or even hurtful.\u2019 But tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation\u2019s answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Erin Hawley, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented 303 Creative, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/02\/for-artists-like-colorados-lorie-smith-the-first-amendment-protects-the-right-not-to-speak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">confirmed<\/a>, \u201cNo one is arguing \u2014 and the Alliance Defending Freedom would oppose any argument \u2014 to allow conduct that rejects an entire class of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/for-artists-like-colorados-lorie-smith-the-first-amendment-protects-the-right-not-to-speak\/\" title=\"For Artists Like Colorado\u2019s Lorie Smith, The First Amendment Protects The Right Not To Speak\">government targets speech<\/a>, rather than conduct, the First Amendment\u2019s protections apply,\u201d she clarified.<\/p>\n<p>Alliance Defending Freedom celebrated the decision as <a href=\"https:\/\/adflegal.org\/press-release\/us-supreme-court-protects-free-speech-landmark-ruling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201ca win for all Americans.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ruling makes clear that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-free-speech-decision-supreme-court-rules-government-cant-force-americans-like-lorie-smith-to-violate-religious-beliefs\/\" title=\"Supreme Court: Government Can't Compel Americans to Violate Religious Beliefs\">nondiscrimination laws remain firmly<\/a> in place, and that the government has never needed to compel speech to ensure access to goods and services. This is a win for all Americans,\u201d Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner said in a statement. \u201cThe government should no more censor Lorie for speaking consistent with her beliefs about marriage than it should punish an LGBT graphic designer for declining to criticize same-sex marriage. If we desire freedom for ourselves, we must defend it for others.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-84c714b86cfd727cca934024c377932b fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-84c714b86cfd727cca934024c377932b\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government cannot compel Americans, such as graphic artist Lorie Smith from Colorado, to endorse beliefs they disagree with. The landmark decision emphasizes that the First Amendment protects everyone, regardless of the government&#8217;s approval. Activists have long attempted to challenge this principle, but their efforts have been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":1961264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1961263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1961264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}