Supreme Court to Decide Constitutional Right to Deny Service to Same-Sex Couples

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it would consider whether a Colorado website designer had a First Amendment right to refuse to produce same-sex wedding announcements, the latest clash between LGBT and religious rights.

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A Littleton, Colo., company, 303 Creative LLC, and its owner, Lorie Smith, filed suit seeking an exemption from the state Antidiscrimination Act, which requires most shops and other businesses to treat customers equally without regard to factors including race, religion, sex, age, disability and sexual orientation.

Ms. Smith said she plans to begin offering wedding websites but that her religious beliefs preclude her from doing so for same-sex couples. “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 it,” she says on 303 Creative’s website. “I am always careful to avoid communicating ideas or messages, or promoting events, products, services, or organizations, that are inconsistent with my religious beliefs.”

In expanding the business to wedding website design, Ms. Smith planned to add to that statement, explaining that she would turn away same-sex couples because preparing their announcements “would compromise my Christian witness and tell a story about marriage that contradicts God’s true story of marriage—the very story He is calling me to promote.”

Federal courts in Colorado, however, found no First Amendment exemption for Ms. Smith, even if other website designers were willing to serve same-sex couples.