GLAAD RESPONSE TO U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION IN “303 CREATIVE” CASE ALLOWING A BUSINESS TO VIOLATE NONDISCRIMINATION LAWS TO REFUSE SERVICE TO LGBTQ COUPLES:

“This decision will bring harm and stigma to LGBTQ families and is yet another example of a Court that is out of touch with the supermajority of Americans who believe in fundamental freedoms and know that discrimination is wrong. Businesses that are open to the public should serve all in the public. Not one LGBTQ couple sought the business’ services so this case is a massive abuse of the judicial system and part of a coordinated effort for groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom to leverage corrupt extremist justices to roll back rights of marginalized Americans. The decision does not reflect a country that supports LGBTQ people and recognizes that our relationships are equal, valid and valued.”

(New York, NY, June 30, 2023) GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative, Inc. v. Elenis.

In a 6 to 3 vote, The Court upheld the right of a website business to violate Colorado’s nondiscrimination law and deny services to same-sex couples. The business had not been asked to serve any same-sex couple.

The case was brought by Alliance Defending Freedom, which has argued and lost cases at the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people, and fought to overturn Roe v. Wade, and block access to abortion medication.

In her dissent, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes: “Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class… the act of discrimination has never constituted protected expression under the First Amendment. Our Constitution contains no right to refuse service to a disfavored group.”

In contrast to the plaintiff’s hypothetical case, Sotomayor noted examples of same-sex couples who have been discriminated against, including a man in his 80s denied funeral services for his husband, and a cemetery that refused to inscribe a headstone for a lesbian couple with the words “beloved life partner.” Sotomayor: “Wedding websites, birth announcements, family portraits, epitaphs. These are not just words and images. They are the most profound moments in a human’s life. They are the moments that give that life personal and cultural meaning… There are many such stories, too many to tell here. And after today, too many to come.”

Statement from Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her/hers), President and CEO of GLAAD:
“This decision will bring harm and stigma to LGBTQ families and is yet another example of a Court that is out of touch with the supermajority of Americans who believe in fundamental freedoms and know that discrimination is wrong. Businesses that are open to the public should serve all in the public. Not one LGBTQ couple sought the business’ services so this case is a massive abuse of the judicial system and part of a coordinated effort for groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom to leverage corrupt extremist justices to roll back rights of marginalized Americans. The decision does not reflect a country that supports LGBTQ people and recognizes that our relationships are equal, valid and valued.”

Additional research:

• GLAAD Accelerating Acceptance Study (June 1, 2023) shows supermajority support of LGBTQ people:
  • 91% of non-LGBTQ Americans agree that LGBTQ people should have the freedom to live their life and not be discriminated against
    
  • 84% support equal rights for the LGBTQ community
• GALLUP: 71% of Americans support marriage equality, eight years after the Court’s Obergefell decision legalized it nationwide
• A NORC at the University of Chicago poll (June 15) shows 71% of Americans oppose using religious beliefs as a reason to discriminate against LGBTQ people – including 59% of people who say they attend religious services. Women and people of color were more likely to object to religious-based discrimination
• NPR/Marist Poll shows ongoing declining confidence in the Court, with 59% of Americans reporting low to no confidence.
• 500+ anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced across the country this year, to criminalize health care for transgender youth, ban LGBTQ-inclusive curricula in schools, ban books, prohibit transgender students from participating in school sports, and prohibit drag performances. Tennessee’s drag ban was struck down as unconstitutional earlier this month.
• GLAAD tracked more than 160 attacks on drag events and performers.
• More than 20 children’s hospitals faced bomb threats, fueled by disinformation spread online, extremist media and extremist social media.
• In a first-of-its-kind report released last week, the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, in partnership with GLAAD, tracked 356 anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism incidents from June 2022 to April 2023, including 305 acts of harassment, 40 acts of vandalism and 11 incidents of assault.
• GLAAD and Ipsos poll (June 22, 2023) shows a majority of Americans support companies that include LGBTQ people:
  • 74% of Americans are neutral or positively impacted by knowing a company offers Pride merchandise.
  • 59% of Americans believe companies offering Pride merchandise are showing support and acceptance of the LGBTQ community.