Posted on 05/17/2016 12:22:40 PM PDT by massmike
A lawsuit filed in Arizona claims a city ordinance forces local artists to use their talents to promote same-sex weddings and does not allow them to express freely their belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative, Christian legal organization, filed a pre-enforcement challenge to Phoenix's city code May 12 for Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka, owners of Brush & Nib Studio based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Koski and Duka, who want to honor God through their art and business, specialize in hand painting, hand lettering and calligraphy for events, like weddings.
Phoenix law "strips artists of their freedom to choose what to create and what to say in the marriage context," the complaint against the city says. If Koski and Duke were to turn down creating art to celebrate a same-sex marriage, the city could fine them up to $2,500 for each day they violate the law and make them spend six months in jail since their studio creates art for opposite-sex wedding ceremonies, according to the complaint.
"Artists shouldn't be threatened with jail for disagreeing with the government," Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. He added:
The government must allow artists the freedom to make personal decisions about what art they will create and what art they won't create. Just because an artist creates expression that communicates one viewpoint doesn't mean she is required to express all viewpoints. It's unjust, unnecessary and unlawful to force an artist to create against her will and intimidate her into silence.
Alliance Defending Freedom also filed May 12, in the Maricopa County Superior Court, a motion of preliminary injunction on behalf of the artists. The accompanying motion says Phoenix city code forbids public accommodations from discriminating against a person based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors. The preliminary injunction brief says:
These rules should not affect Brush & Nib since Brush & Nib decides what art it will create based on the art's message, not the requester's personal characteristics.
But Phoenix's interpretation of [the city code] puts Brush & Nib in the crosshairs. Phoenix construes [the city code's] ban on sexual orientation discrimination to require public accommodations to provide any service to same-sex couples that they would also provide to opposite-sex couples, regardless whether those services are expressive in nature or not.
A spokesperson for the city of Phoenix told The Daily Signal that the city had not yet been served as of Monday morning, so she cannot comment until they are.
"Artists don't surrender their freedom of speech and freedom from coercion when they choose to make a living with their art," Jonathan Scruggs, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. "Government can't censor artists or demand that they create art that violates their deepest convictions."
Atlas Shrugged is now nonfiction...has been for several years.
Of course not...That would cause a “catch-22” with the government....
-PJ
That's the accurate term for it. Homos and fascism are age-old partners.
Don’t worry. If gays are allowed to marry, it won’t have any effect on you. Right
That’s jail time I’d take.
What’s worse? LGBT bullies pirating government power to use politically correct LGBT rights to trump constitutionally enumerated rights, or people with religious convictions evidently not knowing their constitutional rights well enough to protect themselves?
Based on a related thread …
The referenced artists are paying the consequences for evidently not knowing their 14th Amendment (14A) protections.
14th Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Regardless what pro-gay activist justices and judges want everybody to think about LGBT “constitutional” rights, gay “marriage” for example, the states have never amended the Constitution to expressly protect such rights. And misguided, low-information state officials are unthinkingly violating Section 1 of 14A, imo, by using PC, constitutionally unprotected gay “rights” to trump constitutionally enumerated rights, the 1st Amendment-protected rights of religious expression and free speech in these cases.
Regarding business owners using 14A to protect themselves from misguided, pro-LGBT state officials and other likewise low-information LGBT supporters, note that Acts 22:23-30 indicates that Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen to save himself from being flogged.
What the hell about “freedom association” don’t these lawmakers understand?
It should be a federal law allowing people affected by unconstitutional laws to sue the government entity who wrote them if they are later ruled unconstitutional.
I’m tired of legislators throwing crap on the wall to see if it’ll stick.
later on.
“Government can’t censor artists or demand that they create art that violates their deepest convictions.”
5 years ago this was true. Now?
Artists shouldn’t be threatened with jail for disagreeing with the government,
...not in Odungoworld
I see we’re adopting the Soviet policies on art as well as science. It was inevitable.
The perverts in government interpreting the laws have unlimited taxpayer funds to bankrupt anyone they want and goons with guns to enforce their interpretation.
The bible is not part of the constitution we are living under, as interpreted by our masters.
Do you have any USEFUL practical suggestions?
#29 >>> “Government can’t censor artists or demand that they create art that violates their deepest convictions.”
5 years ago this was true. Now?<<<
Years ago, this would be what they called a no-brainer!
GRRR!
“It’s a big world.. Go find somebody else to do the ‘art’ thingy for ya.”
This is exactly where their “blacks at the lunch counter” argument falls down. In the segregation era, blacks had their own restaurants and were simply not allowed in the white restaurants.
In this case, virtually all similar artists (or bakers or DJs etc..) are happy to serve the gay community and these filth spend their time looking for people like these artists or Sweetcakes by Melissa to FORCE them into obedience by force of shame, by force of public excoriation or by force of law.
There are plenty of other options available. They want EVERYONE to HAVE to be available to them and claim discrimination when they are not. In another - wiser - era they’d be laughed at.
Not quite true. Those who own the other 98% of us SENT Bammie to do their dirty work.
And “Gaystapo.”
“What are the 2% going to do when the the 98% turn on them? The homosexual tyranny will turn into the homosexual crackdown in the not too distant future. Americans are fed up with perverts and sexual deviants dictating how their perversions rule supreme. The backlash will be horribly effective.”
Entirely possible. When Rome fell the new nations that arose rejected the debauchery that destroyed Rome from within and for 1500 years those elements were purged from society. Then we thought we could be tolerant and coexist with them...just like we do with the Muslims...and with a similar result.
“and when turned down, they can cry and cry and get all kinds of air time and press...That’s their whole purpose....”
You are 50% correct, that is half of their purpose. The other, far more important half, is getting a huge financial settlement!
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