WHAT’S AT STAKE
Friday’s ruling in 303 Creative v. Elenis legalized “No Gays Allowed” in our business windows, in our communities, and in our laws. It is a devastating blow to equality and freedom – not only for LGBTQ+ people but for every minority group and protected class in this country.
A NATION BUILD ON EQUALITY?
America is built on principles of equality. The 14th Amendment’s equal rights clause has widely been accepted – by this very court – as protection for everyone from being treated differently and unfairly, especially those who are discriminated against for their protected class status, such as race, color, sex, and yes, even religion.
In this case, the plaintiff’s religion is not under attack. She, and her family, are welcome to openly and freely practice their religion; in their daily life, at their church, and at any other place where practicing that religion doesn’t infringe upon the rights of others. Yet, in this case, 303 Creative incorporated and asked to open a business to serve the public, and then once opened, asked to be able to discriminate against the public openly.
WHO IT HURTS MOST
The queer community, especially black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC) — who now have two rulings against them in The Court’s decisions to end the equitable practice of affirmative action in college admissions — knows how this plays out. The majority of this burden, the social and mental pressures, and the sometimes verbal and physical violence that such discrimination encourages squarely fall on LGBTQ, BIPOC, trans women of color, black trans youth, and the shoulders of black LGBTQ elders. We are putting these communities back into the discrimination of their youth before protections were enacted, and we are forcing them to relive the past when they were widely denied services and entry.
These communities know what it is like to have a realtor guide them away from the neighborhood they want to live in. They know the sting of a restaurant owner telling them on Valentine’s Day that they’re only seating “couples.” They know how it feels to be judged purely on assumptions about how they look. SCOTUS’s decision codifies this discrimination and puts the full weight of our legal system into protecting that discrimination. It tells people that you can deny service based on assumptions and that the law will also have your back when you do.
CASE MAY HAVE BEEN BASED ON A FALSIFIED HARM
Sadly, it is not a leap to suggest one can deny services entirely based on presumptions about one’s sexual orientation. In this very case, the legal standing brought forth has been found to be based on a cisgender man who has been married to his cisgender female partner for over a decade. Stewart, who is also a web designer, said he never requested 303 Creative’s services and would have created a website himself should he have needed one. 303 Creative said whether he wrote to 303 about a same-sex wedding website design or a “troll,” it doesn’t matter, highlighting that the case was brought purely for a license to discriminate, not due to real harm.
A MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY IS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
“We have a long, sad history of businesses shielding themselves with exclamations of religious freedom as a license to discriminate. This case is no different from the blatant bigotry of the past.”
said Stacie Walls, CEO of LGBT Life Center
A majority of the country does not want discrimination against the LGBTQ community:
- 71% of Americans support same-gender marriage
- 80% support anti-discrimination laws
- 65% of Americans oppose businesses discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals
Stacie Walls went on to say, “Until the last two years, at no time in modern history has The Court so blatantly and so unabashedly ignored decades of legal precedent. Precedent that has expanded equality, built systems of equity, and moved us toward justice for all. Today, The Court again showed us that their loyalty is to discrimination, bodily restrictions, and imposing religiously based moral codes on all of us.”
This ruling risks turning us back to a time when businesses regularly denied goods and services not only because of their LGBTQ+ status but also their religion, race, national origin, sex, and more.
If you see discrimination in the 757, please get in touch with us at info@lgbtlifecenter.org.
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