A Colorado graphic artist claims in her
lawsuit that the state's non-discrimination law forces her to promote
same-sex marriage against her religious beliefs.
Lorie Smith and her business, 303
Creative, are represented by the Christian conservative group
Alliance Defending Freedom.
Smith filed the lawsuit in federal
court last year and this week filed a motion for summary judgment.
“Lorie does not decide what speech to
create based on any of these protected characteristics and CADA
[Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act] should thus have no application
to her,” lawyers
said in their filing. “But Lorie does decide what speech to
design and create based on her religious beliefs, including the
conviction that marriage is a union instituted by God between one man
and one woman. … It is undisputed here that Defendants [the state]
interpret her message-based objection to celebrating same-sex
marriage as sexual orientation discrimination prohibited by CADA.”
“This application of CADA to Lorie
and 303 Creative violates the First Amendment, the Unconstitutional
Conditions Doctrine, and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses
of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Smith's lawsuit is a “pre-enforcement
challenge,” which allows a challenge to a law before an incident
has occurred.