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The Supreme Court grappled Monday with balancing free speech against gay rights, hearing a case involving a Colorado website designer who says she shouldn’t be compelled to violate the tenets of her faith by creating products for same-sex marriages.
Web designer Lorie Smith in her challenge of Colorado’s pro-LGBTQ law is asking the Supreme Court to protect her First Amendment right not to be forced to work on something she opposes.
She says having to design websites for same-sex marriages goes against her Christian faith and forces her to speak a message she doesn’t agree with.
“The state forces Ms. Smith to create speech, not simply sell it,” said Kristen Waggoner, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal advocacy group representing Ms. Smith.
“She is being asked to shape her speech,” Ms. Waggoner argued, stressing that it violates Ms. Smith’s First Amendment rights.