The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a major challenge to anti-discrimination laws by considering whether a Colorado web designer has a free-speech right to refuse service to couples planning same-sex weddings.
The justices announced Tuesday that they will hear arguments in a case that pits website designer Lorie Smith against Colorado officials who contend that she is violating the state’s public accommodation law by declining to provide custom website services for same-sex unions.
While Smith has said that her refusal is grounded in her Christian faith and she is backed by lawyers who press religious freedom cases, her case has been framed as a free-speech challenge rather than one based on her right to freely exercise her religion.