The US Supreme Court is reviewing the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado web designer who refuses to create websites for same-sex couples based on her free speech protections (303 Creative LLC v. Elenis). Although she’s never designed wedding websites before, nor have any gay couples attempted to hire her, she claims that potentially being compelled to design websites for gay people conflicts with her religious beliefs and that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act impedes her First Amendment free speech protections. Considering that gay clients have never contacted Ms. Smith; this lawsuit from the Christian right is nothing but a thinly veiled publicity stunt to game the courts so she and her deep-pocketed evangelical sponsors have their way.
In a similar 2017 case, Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver, refused to bake a gay wedding cake for a gay couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, due to the same MAGA red hat mindset. Phillips was subsequently ordered by a Colorado court to provide services to same-sex couples and faced charges of anti-gay discrimination. The Supreme Court later ruled in favor of Phillips, citing the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s perceived anti-religious bias as a violation of his First Amendment rights (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission). However, the Court did not address the issue of anti-discrimination laws, freedom of religion, or freedom of speech.
It’s important to highlight that while the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, acknowledging that his First Amendment rights were violated, SCOTUS stated that his religious freedom had not been impaired. One must wonder how exactly his first amendment rights were violated if his freedom of religion, the right in question, was not impacted.
It seems that the Christian cult has forgotten Matthew 22:21, where Jesus said:
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s,”
This verse explains the intended relationship between Christians and the laws of God and man. In the context of these court cases, this phrase means that when the government grants a business license, the owner agrees to abide by the laws of the land, including the principle of the separation of church and state. This principle is fundamental to our legal framework and no longer up for debate. For-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations do not have the right to deny service to individuals within protected classes, such as gays or lesbians, regardless of their “religious beliefs.”
To effectively combat discrimination, all businesses that fail to recognize the role of “Caeser’s Law” should have their licenses revoked. If a company commits discrimination, the government should immediately withdraw its’ license, ensuring that we uphold the principles of equality and constitutional rights of all individuals, irrespective of their religious beliefs and sexual orientation.
When addressing matters of religious rights and exemptions, the Supreme Court must recognize and respect the existence and rights of the approximately 4,300 religions developed by humanity. While the Court has primarily focused on the rights of Christians, the same level of respect and consideration must extend to all religions when considering religious exemptions.
While the evangelical right has been busy manufacturing a fictional scenario to bring a self-proclaimed discrimination case before the Supreme Court, it’s worth noting that Jesus himself did accept different sexual orientations and gender identities, saying:
“For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Matthew 19:12
Notably, the only New Testament author to condemn homosexuality was the Apostle Paul, someone who had never personally met Jesus. Despite this, the Church has disregarded Jesus’ teachings, and obscured its history of gay priests, bishops, and popes. The time has come for Christians to listen to the word of their God instead of placing their faith in their fallible leaders.
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