Supreme Court rules that graphic designer cannot be forced to design website for same-sex marriages

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that Colorado cannot force a graphic designer to create art that violates her religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court ruled on Lorie Smith, a graphic artist who doesn't believe she should have to design wedding websites that go against her religious beliefs, such as those for same-sex marriages.

According to the Daily Signal, Smith was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which asked the court to rule on whether or not Colorado's anti-discrimination law violated her rights.

Colorado has its own Anti-Discrimination Act, described by HKM as prohibiting discrimination or harassment on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation.

However, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot compel speech and ruled in favor of Smith by a vote of 6-3. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett ruled in favor of the woman, who recently expressed that she didn't want to celebrate messages that she didn't believe in.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted against the ruling.

“The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees,” wrote Justice Gorsuch, for the majority.

“The First Amendment’s protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy. In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance,” Gorsuch added.

"Consistent with the First Amendment, the Nation’s answer is tolerance, not coercion. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands. Colorado cannot deny that promise consistent with the First Amendment."

In dissent, Justice Sotomayor said that the ruling was “profoundly wrong" and will “mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”

“I create unique, one-of-a-kind artwork and messaging for my clients,” Smith told the Daily Signal in May 2023. “I love what I do. I have clients who come from all different walks of life, I have clients who identify as LGBT," she continued.

“I’ve always wanted to design and create, and I’ve always wanted to create and design for weddings,” Smith added. “But I can’t do that … because the state of Colorado is censoring my speech and forcing me to create custom and unique artwork, one-of-a-kind designs that celebrate messages about marriage that go against what I believe.”

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