The Supreme Court of the United States voted 6 to 3 today to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people based on religous beliefs and the right to “free speech.”
According to USA Today: In a case that could have profound implications for when businesses may turn away customers, a Colorado website designer argued a state anti-discrimination law couldn’t be used to compel her to develop same-sex wedding sites. It is the latest in a series of cases to reach the court pitting business owners against LGBTQ customers.
In a scathing dissent that she read from the bench, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the case involves “a business open to the public [that] seeks to deny gay and lesbian customers the full and equal enjoyment of its services based on the owner’s religious belief that same-sex marriages are ‘false.'”
“The business argues, and a majority of the court agrees, that because the business offers services that are customized and expressive, the free speech clause of the First Amendment shields the business from a generally applicable law that prohibits discrimination in the sale of publicly available goods and services,” Sotomayor said. “That is wrong. Profoundly wrong.”
Based on today’s ruling, anyone in America may now be the subject of discrimination based on someone’s religious beliefs, or claims of “free speech.”
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