Colorado has agreed to pay over $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees after a Christian graphic designer who refused to make a website for a same-sex wedding won in Supreme Court.
Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, sued the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the state’s attorney general.
The Supreme Court ruled the state could not punish her for refusing to make a website for same-sex couples, upholding her First Amendment rights.
“Colorado has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees for violating the First Amendment rights of graphic artist Lorie Smith, following her landmark Supreme Court victory in 303 Creative v. Elenis,” Alliance Defending Freedom wrote.
“CO officials threatened and censored Lorie’s speech for nearly seven years before she won at the high court. They have also spent years targeting other CO artists—like cake designer Jack Phillips—in an attempt to compel their speech,” the legal organization added.
BREAKING
CO officials threatened and censored Lorie’s speech… pic.twitter.com/IicctcVLDb
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) November 19, 2024
Per Just the News:
Smith’s lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom and Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser notified the federal trial court Tuesday that they had reached a settlement on that issue.
ADVERTISEMENTColorado will pay her $1.5 million for the nearly seven years she spent under threat from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which said she violated public accommodations law by refusing to produce messages against her Christian faith.
“For me, it’s always about what message is requested, never the person making the request,” Smith said in ADF’s press release. “I hope that everyone will celebrate the court’s decision upholding this right for each of us to speak freely.”
WATCH:
VICTORY!
For Lorie Smith, it’s been a long journey all the way to the Supreme Court. Today, it culminated in the free speech win of a generation—not just for Lorie, but for every American. pic.twitter.com/nvtVZqGxEj
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) June 30, 2023
The Denver Gazette reports:
The case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last year in favor of Smith, concluding that Colorado sought to “force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance” and therefore violated her First Amendment rights.
“The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and Colorado officials have paid and will continue to pay a high price when they violate this foundational freedom,” Kristen Waggoner, who argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of Smith and 303 Creative, said in a news release. “For the past 12 years, Colorado has targeted people of faith and forced them to express messages that violate their conscience and that advance the government’s preferred ideology. First Amendment protections are non-negotiable.”
The office of Attorney General Phil Weiser confirmed the settlement over the fees but declined to comment.
Last year, after the Supreme Court ruled, Weiser said the decision “threatens to destabilize our public marketplace and encourage all kinds of businesses — not just those serving weddings — to claim a First Amendment free speech right to refuse service to certain customers.”
“This case is not about websites or speech — but the ability of all to enter the public marketplace as equals,” Weiser then said, adding, “Equality and fairness are core Colorado values and we have protected people in our state from discrimination in public accommodations for more than 100 years. We will work hard to ensure that, within the confines of the Court’s opinion, we take action to hold accountable those who engage in unlawful discrimination.”
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