Buttigieg claims Lorie Smith 'went into wedding business' only to provoke 'case like this' after SCOTUS ruling

close

Video

Pete Buttigieg suggests Lorie Smith only got into wedding business to 'provoke' cases like 303 Creative v. Elenis

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested Sunday that Lorie Smith, who the Supreme Court ruled in favor of on Friday, got into the wedding business to provoke "cases like this." 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday during an appearance on CNN that Lorie Smith, the Colorado graphic designer who sued the state over its anti-discrimination law, only got into the business "for the purpose of provoking a case like this."

CNN's Dana Bash asked Buttigieg if there was any "merit" to the Supreme Court's argument. 

"No, there isn’t, and I think it’s very revealing that there’s no evidence that this web designer was ever even approached by anyone asking for a website for a same-sex wedding," Buttigieg said. "It appears this web designer only went into the wedding business for the purpose of provoking a case like this and in that sense, I think there is something in common with the Supreme Court ruling and what we’ve seen happening in state legislatures in the country, which is kind of a solution looking for a problem."

"In other words, sending these kinds of things to the courts and sending these kinds of things to state legislatures for the clear purpose at chipping away at the equality and the rights that have so recently been won in the LGBTQ+ community and when you do that it’s at the expense of so many other issues that Americans are asking for relief and support on, the kinds of economic issues that President Biden was emphasizing in his Bidenomics address," he continued. 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday.  (Screenshot/CNN/StateOfTheUnion)

JUSTICES HEAR ARGUMENTS OVER AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HARVARD, UNC SUPREME COURT CASES

He also said the ruling "tells you everything you need to know about this agenda."

"The fact that this was relief from a situation that may have never happened in the first place tells you everything you need to know about this agenda to use every instrument of government, courts and legislatures, to claw back at these rights for people who were just trying to go about their lives and just trying to be treated equally by businesses and by the government," he continued. 

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of graphic designer Smith, who sued the state over its anti-discrimination law that prohibited businesses providing sales or other accommodations to the public from denying service based on a customer's sexual orientation.

Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, which said that, "In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance." 

On June 30, 2022, Justice Jackson took the oaths of office to become the 104th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.   (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)

SUPREME COURT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CASE: HOW CALIFORNIA SEES ITS IMPACT

"But tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands. Because Colorado seeks to deny that promise, the judgment is reversed," he continued.

The court also recently issued rulings on President Biden's student loan handout plan and affirmative action.

The Supreme Court of the United States building are seen in Washington D.C., United States on December 28, 2022. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that, "A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrim­ination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination."

"Or a benefit to a student whose herit­age or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her ex­periences as an individual—not on the basis of race," the opinion reads.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.