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High court takes case involving refusal to serve gay couples
The Associated Press ^ | February 22, 2022

Posted on 02/22/2022 7:24:33 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a new clash involving religion and the rights of LGBT people.

The high court said Tuesday it would hear the case of Colorado-based web designer Lorie Smith. Smith offers graphic and website design services and wants to expand to wedding website services, but she says her religious beliefs would lead her to decline any request from a same-sex couple to design a wedding website. She also wants to post a statement on her website about her beliefs, but that would run afoul of a Colorado anti-discrimination law. Smith had argued the law violates her free speech and religious rights.

The Supreme Court said in taking the case, however, that it would look only at the free speech issue. It said it would decide whether a law that requires an artist to speak or stay silent violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment. The case is expected to be argued in the fall.

In a 2-1 ruling last year, the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Smith’s attempt to overturn a lower court ruling throwing out her legal challenge. The panel said Colorado had a compelling interest in protecting the “dignity interests” of members of marginalized groups through its law, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

The law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, is the same one at issue in the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips that was decided in 2018 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Colorado; US: Indiana
KEYWORDS: 10thcircuit; colorado; genderdysphoria; homosexualagenda; indiana; jackphillips; loriesmith; perverts; petebuttigieg; scotus
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To: Amendment10
A big hat-tip thanks, Am 10, for reminding us that the 14th Amendment not only extends Bill of Rights protections to the state level, but also expects Congress to enforce this protection. As Congress did shortly after the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were ratified.

IMHO, winning this requires a spiritual awakening. We should spend less time trying to win it politically and more time trying to win people back to believing in the Lord.

41 posted on 02/22/2022 9:03:56 AM PST by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Let’s watch them dance around this issue again, ignoring the elephant in the room.


42 posted on 02/22/2022 9:06:03 AM PST by fwdude (Every time I see someone voluntarily masked in public, I know I'm looking at a vaccinated person.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

No mask, no service. End of oral argument.


43 posted on 02/22/2022 9:11:32 AM PST by nonliberal (Trump 2024. Burn it down.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

John Roberts will DEFINITELY VOTE WITH THE LIBERALS!! He is VERY DICEY!


44 posted on 02/22/2022 9:19:09 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.be)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I wonder what Jesus would do?

The authorities of His day were convinced they could stump Him on paying taxes or not. He asked for a coin, asking whose face was on the coin? Caesar’s. “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and give unto God that which is God’s”.

On this issue, what belongs to Caesar [the guvmint] and what belongs to God? The lady is doing it right, taking it up through the courts. But even taking issues up through the courts is giving far more to Caesar than Caesar deserves. It’s almost like OVERpaying your taxes.


45 posted on 02/22/2022 9:22:41 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: daniel1212

Sexual “orientation” is a choice, not a trait like skin color. It’s a choice every bit as much as,jointing one religion or another, or no religion is a choice. So it’s odd that one choice is elevated to trait while the other isn’t. Religion “should be” every bit as protected as skin color is protected agaisnt discrimination if they are going to protect an immoral choice like homosexuality as a trait

The left can’t even be consistent. One evolutionist describes relgiousness as stemming from a virus (the evolutionist that argued agaisnt Michael behe- can’t recall,his name right now), and other folks falsely claim that there is a “gay gene” and that people can’t help being gay- this they argued is why it needs constitutional protection like skin color gets. But if the left argue that religion or folks have a virus, then this means “they can’t help what they are either” and should be protected too

Of course it’s as false to say thst religious folks have a virus as it is to suggest that gay people,have a gay gene and can’t help their choices.


46 posted on 02/22/2022 9:24:16 AM PST by Bob434
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To: daniel1212

just as he would be to deny the same on racial grounds.
***You can change your sexual orientation but you can’t change your race. And if one is such a racist that they won’t build a website for black people, let the market have its say on such bigotry. I think there’s plenty of market for someone who won’t bake an LGBQake.


47 posted on 02/22/2022 9:28:50 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: frogjerk
Actually it should be “To religious psychos!” Why the hell are you even in business? You think that you will only get work and make a living from the sinless? There are gays, adulterers, divorced people, people divorced and remarried and divorced and remarried, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. And none of them have a card identification that they can flash at you telling you of their sins. As a Christian, you are supposed to love everyone as Christ did, and let God sort out the sinners. Draw the line at obscenity but otherwise, be a faithful servant to all. Stop being a bunch of morons and provide a service you went into business for.
48 posted on 02/22/2022 9:30:06 AM PST by The MAGA-Deplorian ( 2022 - VOTE THE BUMS OUT —— ALL OF THEM! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian
Draw the line at obscenity but otherwise, be a faithful servant to all.

What makes obscenity a no go but promoting homosexuality, which brought down the wrath of God, not good enough to balk at? And why are you calling people names which is not very Christian rather than discussing the issue?

You don't seem to know the difference between participating materially in sin and not judging others. There is a difference.

49 posted on 02/22/2022 9:55:11 AM PST by frogjerk (I will not do business with fascists)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

It’s only a matter of time until the courts declare pedophiles to be protected under these non-discrimination laws.


50 posted on 02/22/2022 10:19:24 AM PST by aimhigh (THIS is His commandment . . . . 1 John 3:23)
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To: frogjerk
Spare me. Baking a cake or designing a website is promoting homosexuality? The payers already know they are gay. How many times have you seen something gay and decided that was the lifestyle for you? Its a choice. So is cheating on your wife. So is divorce. So is defiling your body with booze or drugs. Sin is sin. None of it is acceptable in Gods eyes. All these business people are doing is bankrupting their business in legal fees and court costs, to eventually not have a business to go to. That is a moron. Christ pointed out hypocrites and morons all the time. Ask any Pharisee! Serve the sinner and pray for their souls. Thats what is being a Christian is all about! If serving gays a cupcake is against your moral code, then why are you in business in the first place?
51 posted on 02/22/2022 10:31:08 AM PST by The MAGA-Deplorian ( 2022 - VOTE THE BUMS OUT —— ALL OF THEM! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian
Again, you are misrepresenting the issue and creating a strawman argument. Serving a gay couple is not the issue. If the gay couple asks you specifically to make a special cupcake for their gay wedding then you are complicit in their sin, yes. If a gay couple wants you to design a web site for their gay wedding, yes, you are complicit. Why cant someone say no and be the end of it. Like another Freeper said on this thread "I still cannot get a ham sandwich at a Jewish deli"

This whole gay issue must be hitting a nerve or something the way you are lashing out at Christians.

Also, if sin is sin then why are you hell-bent on approving of it?

You can be an accessory to other's sins in the following ways:

1. By counsel
2. By command
3. By consent
4. By provocation
5. By praise or flattery
6. By concealment
7. By partaking
8. By silence
9. By defense of the ill done

FYI: The spiritual works of mercy include:

Admonish sinners.
Instruct the ignorant.
Counsel the doubtful.
Comfort the sorrowful.
Be patient with those in error.
Forgive offenses.
Pray for the living and the dead.

52 posted on 02/22/2022 11:09:37 AM PST by frogjerk (I will not do business with fascists)
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To: frogjerk
How am I lashing out at Christians when this is what Christ taught? “Love one another as I have loved you”. Christ didn't die on the cross for all sinners ….except them gays. It was for all mankind, and all I pointed out is that sin is equal in the eyes of the lord. Its all bad. Thats not accepting of it. Thats pointing out that what you see as no big deal, is a big deal in Gods eyes! The only thing I'm saying is getting into business means to serve all. Once you discriminate, you are asking for trouble. Bite the bullet and do what Christ is doing for us now, praying for us to reject sin. Otherwise whats your solution to this gay plague that God approves;? Gay Concentration camps? Mass extermination? I don’t condone or accept their lifestyle at all. But if one is starving or needs help, they are my brothers and sisters, and I’m obligated to help them to also help shine the light of Christ on them. Your way just makes them hate us more! Like I said, its Gods decision to judge the living and the dead. We’ll all pay for our sins if we do not accept Christ in our heart and ask for forgiveness and pray for others. The gateway to heaven is narrow and few find it, while the road to hell is broad and wide. Free will is what will set all our paths
53 posted on 02/22/2022 11:32:17 AM PST by The MAGA-Deplorian ( 2022 - VOTE THE BUMS OUT —— ALL OF THEM! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian

Hey Maga-dipwad:

I’ll pay you a dollar to post that your own viewpoints are antithetical to Free Republic so ya wanna be zotted, and make sure you cc the mods and JimRob.

Let me know where to send my $bill.


54 posted on 02/22/2022 11:37:42 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: frogjerk

What makes obscenity a no go but promoting homosexuality, which brought down the wrath of God, not good enough to balk at?
***He thinks God should be apologizing to Sodom and Gomorrah.


55 posted on 02/22/2022 11:38:48 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian

It ain’t “serving a homosexual a cupcake”. What started this was the homos saw the christian emblems on the bakery and asked directly to have their homo-cake baked with a positive homo-marriage message on the top of the cake.

That’s the difference between serving a cupcake and participating in another person’s sin.

Not that you would know the difference.


56 posted on 02/22/2022 11:41:07 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: frogjerk

Like another Freeper said on this thread “I still cannot get a ham sandwich at a Jewish deli”
***That’s good. I think I’ll add it to the tagline page.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3992415/posts?q=1&;page=367#367

This whole gay issue must be hitting a nerve or something the way you are lashing out at Christians.
***Yup. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Also, if sin is sin then why are you hell-bent on approving of it?
***Because he is a troll, posting stuff that is antithetical to Free Republic, in this case an anti-christian bigot trying to manipulate christianity into his own liking.


57 posted on 02/22/2022 11:44:30 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian

sin is equal in the eyes of the lord. Its all bad.
***Not true. God sent judgement in the form of fire from heaven onto Sodom and Gomorrah for that homosexual activity.

Also John 19:11
... Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”


58 posted on 02/22/2022 11:50:06 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: Kevmo
"***You can change your sexual orientation but you can’t change your race. "

That is true, but not according to WOKE from Hell "fluid" ideology. And SCOTUS has effectively equated amoral aspects as race, color, ethnicity with a immoral behavior, as if endocannibalism was a protected practice as being part of an ethnic class, and thus refusing to create a work of art for it as a commercial artist was a racist crime.

"And if one is such a racist that they won’t build a website for black people, let the market have its say on such bigotry. I think there’s plenty of market for someone who won’t bake an LGBQake."

But that could extend to a Muslim mechanic refusing to fix a broken vehicle of a Christian when no one else is around. The government cannot forbid matters of the heart and faith, but immoral actions only. Unless a difference is made btwn amoral aspects as race as well as beliefs, moral or not, and that of moral actions/practices with the latter being a basis for discrimination (so that a patriot cannot refuse to sell a flag to a liberal, unless he knows the intent is to desecrate it and yet which the state may allow) - and morality is defined by the Bible as understood by the NT church - then evil actions will be called good, or at least protected.

59 posted on 02/22/2022 12:41:27 PM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: The MAGA-Deplorian; frogjerk; Kevmo
"Actually it should be “To religious psychos!” Why the hell are you even in business? You think that you will only get work and make a living from the sinless? There are gays, adulterers, divorced people, people divorced and remarried and divorced and remarried, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. And none of them have a card identification that they can flash at you telling you of their sins"

You are evidently uninformed and confusing the issues. Which is NOT that anyone is being denied a service because they are a sinner, but that of refusing to be complicit in the celebration of an event of practice with the clear express purpose of doing so. A commercial artist should be able to refuse to create a special work for anything they find morally objectionable when that is the express purpose of it, as it was in the case of Masterpiece bakery.

If you knew what Zyklon B was going to be used for then you should try to escape from providing it, and a patriot has the right to refuse to sell flags for antifa to burn, or a black or Jewish baker for creating a special cake for a KKK celebration.

On the other hand commercial artist cannot refuse a general service just because someone is a liberal or black etc. though refusal to host their ideological expression is allowed, thus FF need not accommodate liberals, as well as your irrational anti-Christian ranting.

" As a Christian, you are supposed to love everyone as Christ did, and let God sort out the sinners. Draw the line at obscenity but otherwise, be a faithful servant to all. Stop being a bunch of morons and provide a service you went into business for."

Rather, by imaging that to love everyone as Christ did meant contrary to His own words by His Spirit, "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them," (Ephesians 5:11) and by condemning those who obey "neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure" (1 Timothy 5:22) then guess who is acting ignorant?

Healing people, or even ministering to them as a guest at meals is simply not that of being complicit (a legally recognized condition) in providing for something when the express purpose of it was to enable or celebrate sin (versus something that might be misused for that). And for a true Christian then the service they went into business for is for the glory of the Lord, to show His love and Truth, which includes showing kindness and grace homosexuals but not helping them to specifically engage in immorality. I have brought such food but not their wedding cake.

60 posted on 02/22/2022 2:01:36 PM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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