Free Speech vs. Civil Rights

Reporter Mai Hoang explains how the court decision to exempt a Colorado web designer from LGBTQ+ antidiscrimination laws could have a ripple effect.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that a Christian website designer in Colorado can refuse to provide wedding websites to same-sex couples, because doing so falls within her First Amendment right to free speech.

As Crosscut reporter Mai Hoang found, the ruling in Colorado was the first to address whether prohibiting discrimination against a protected class can be set aside for someone’s free-speech rights.

This decision signals a marked shift from a Washington Supreme Court case, settled in 2021, that required Barronelle Stutzman to follow public accommodation laws after she refused on religious grounds to provide custom floral arrangements for a same-sex marriage.

In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Hoang about the significance of this Supreme Court ruling; its potential implications in Washington; and the tenuous balance between upholding First Amendment rights and protecting vulnerable communities from discrimination.

Read our full report on the impacts of 303 Creative in WA here.  

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Credits

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard

Reporter: Mai Hoang

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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