Supreme Court to hear case of web designer opposed to same-sex wedding clients


The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday to determine if a Colorado graphic designer has a First Amendment right to refuse to create websites for same-sex marriages due to her religious beliefs, The New York Times reports. The plaintiff, Lorie Smith, is challenging a state law that forbids businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation.
Smith, the owner of 303 Creative LLC, wants to expand her business to include wedding website services but hasn't moved forward due to fears that she would be violating a Colorado public accommodations law. Smith only wants to portray marriage "through God's lens" and would like to clarify that she won't portray LGBTQ couples. Smith argues that Colorado's anti-discriminatory law violates her right to free speech. She is open to working with same-sex clients on other projects but draws the line at art that goes against her religious principles.
"The state of Colorado is forcing me to create custom, unique artwork communicating and celebrating a different view of marriage, a view of marriage that goes against my deeply held beliefs," Smith told CNN.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Smith initially claimed that the Colorado law violated her religious freedom, but when the Supreme Court agreed to take her case in February, the justices declined to hear that argument. Instead, they decided to limit its review to whether or not the state's Anti-Discriminatory act violates the First Amendment protection of free speech.
Specifically, the justices will be reviewing "whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Crossword: August 27, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
August 27 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a KKK rebrand, Donald Trump vs. Gavin Newsom, and Ghislaine Maxwell as the new Celebrity Apprentice
-
The mission to demine Ukraine
The Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Sex, drugs and a royal ruckus: the US play with a future gay Prince George
Talking Point The controversial off-Broadway show is a hit with audiences in New York
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle