December 5, 2022
Gay marriage rights were back in front of the Supreme Court today.
The justices heard a case out of Colorado (303 Creative LLC vs Elenis) that involves a wedding website developer who says she shouldn’t have to be forced to create websites for same-sex weddings because it’s against her religion and it violates her first amendment rights especially as an artist. She wants to put a notice on her website that says just that. The state’s law says she can’t — because it’s discriminatory and businesses have to work with all people regardless of sexual orientation. It’s important to know there is no same sex couple seeking out her services for a wedding or anything else. The web developer is using this as a hypothetical to challenge the state law.
And I’m sure you’re wondering what about that brand new law Congress passed to protect same sex marriage rights? Well, it’s true that law did pass but it’s completely silent on the issue of whether private businesses can be forced to provide goods or services for gay marriages. The new law only requires the federal government to recognize gay marriage and states to recognize gay marriages that were performed legally in other states.
We will get a decision from the Supreme Court on this case at the end of the term in June.
