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The fight between Christian-owned businesses and pro-LGBTQ laws continue with another business owner fighting to uphold her freedom of speech.
Lorie Smith, the Colorado-based web designer is in front of the United States Supreme Court today for challenging the state’s anti-discrimination law, and she isn’t the first to do so.
Alliance Defending Freedom represented Jack Phillips, the Colorado cake baker who refused to make a gay couple’s wedding cake, and later also refused to make a cake for an individual celebrating a gender transition. The customer asked Phillips to create a cake with blue frosting with pink inside to celebrate their new gender and he refused.
In his case the U.S. Supreme Court condemned officials in Colorado for acting with hostility toward Phillip’s beliefs. ADF says now “the same law continues to threaten Lorie’s work as a web designer.”
Smith says on her website that her business, 303 Creative, is an expression of the gifts and talents God has given her. She writes, “As a Christian who believes that God gave me the creative gifts that are expressed through this business, I have always strived to honor Him in how I operate.”
For Smith, honoring God and maintaining her religious convictions means she will not create a website for weddings that are inconsistent with her beliefs. The Colorado law keeps her from expressing on her website the reasons why she only creates certain kinds of content. ADF calls the law a “gag order,” and a violation of Smith’s First Amendment rights.
Franklin Graham wrote on Facebook early Monday morning calling everyone to, “Please pray for an important case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this morning at 10am.”
Not far from the Supreme Court steps, ADF and Tony Perkins along with the Family Research Council team gathered together to show their support for Smith.
We’re LIVE from #SCOTUS! Watch the #FreeSpeech rally and hear the full oral argument from 303 Creative v. Elenis ⬇️ https://t.co/f2H8bs9seI
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) December 5, 2022
“We aren’t just here fighting for Christians; we are here at the Supreme Court, asking them to protect all people’s unique faith and all people’s ability to operate in the public sphere without being told how to speak,” Perkins says.
Back in March Smith told Fox News Digital that although she hadn’t started created wedding-related content, she was challenging the law out of future concern.
“I think it’s important for people to understand that I love and welcome the opportunity to work with all people. My case has never been about choosing which client to work with, but about choosing the message that I’m being asked to promote,” she said.
The justices listened to oral arguments today and will be addressing how the Colorado law affects free speech. The ruling is expected to be handed down by the summer of 2023. {eoa}
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Shelby Bowen is an assistant editor for Charisma Media.
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