303 Creative v. Elenis on Free Speech Versus LGBTQ+ Equality

In 303 Creative v. Elenis, the Supreme Court addressed whether a public accommodations law requiring a business to provide goods and services violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment by compelling the business owner to engage in personal expressions of speech. 303 Creative’s owner provides website services to the public, but did not want to create wedding websites for same-sex couples because it would be inconsistent with her belief that marriage should be reserved to heterosexual couples. The Court found that the law compelled speech which is not tolerated by the First Amendment. The dissenters raised concerns that the decision would now allow businesses providing public accommodations to constitutionally refuse to serve members of a protected class.