at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. that case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. back then the court narrowly decided for the baker but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she said she had never received a request to design a same-sex couple site, nor had she turned anyone down. smith won. a majority of the court saw colorado s public accommodation laws an unconstitutional attempt by the state to compel her speech. the minority cast the outcome as the first time the court permitted a commercial business to refuse service to a protected class. justice neil gorsuch
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. the supreme court comprised by appoint east of former president donald trump ended a most consequential term. scotus on voting rights, affirmative action, student loans and adoption. this on top of last year s rulings concerns abortion, guns, religion and climate change. yesterday, the court released a much anticipated opinion concerning speech and gay rights. at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. this case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. then the court decided for the baker, but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she neve
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. the supreme court comprised by appoint east of former president donald trump ended a most consequential term. scotus on voting rights, affirmative action, student loans and adoption. this on top of last year s rulings concerns abortion, guns, religion and climate change. yesterday, the court released a much anticipated opinion concerning speech and gay rights. at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. this case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. then the court decided for the baker, but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to
create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she never received a request to design a same-sex couple s site nor turned anyone down. smith won. a majority of the court saw colorado s public accommodation laws an unconstitutional attempt by the state to compel her speech. the minority cast the outcome as the first time the court permitted a commercial business to refuse service to a protected class. justice neil gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in which he stated this. all manner of speech from pictures, films, paintings, drawings and engravings to all utterance and the printed word qualify for the first amendment s protections. no less can hold true when it comes to speech like miss smith s conveyed over the internet. lawyers and law schools, with we love hypotheticals and both sides to this case came well armed. justice gorsuch s majority warned if the state were
walks of life. i can t create every message requested of me. you do a great job. hypothetical number two. then i ll get off the hypotheticals at least for now. you do a great job for a man and woman getting married. a same-sex couple see the website you create and say we want exactly that. just change the pictures and change the date. don t do anything else. give us what you gave them. how about that? i don t specialize in that type of speech. everything i create is unique and one of a kind. i am always looking at the message i m being asked to create. what s important to emphasize here for the last seven years the state of colorado has been silencing and coercing my speech and forcing me to create a message i don t wish to create. nobody should be put in that position and the court s decision yesterday protects speech, not just for me, for the lgbtq website designer and every other artist out there.