The U.S. Supreme Court will release a decision Friday on a major case involving free speech, faith and LGBTQ+ equality -- where a Denver wedding website designer asked the court to strike down Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act, which would require her to serve LGBTQ+ couples or face fines.
This case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, pits the free speech clause of the First Amendment against legislative efforts to stamp out discrimination against minority groups, particularly the LGBTQ community. Lower federal courts sided with Colorado, saying it has an overriding interest in ensuring equal access to publicly available goods and services.
If the justices were to allow a "free speech exemption" from anti-discrimination protections, Weiser said, the impact could extend far beyond sexual orientation to potentially allow discrimination based on someone's religion, race or ethnicity.