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."
Last Friday, my seven-year journey to secure freedom from government censorship ended in a remarkable victory from the U.S. Supreme Court in 303 Creative v. Elenis. It was a day I’ll never forget. As tears of joy streamed down my face, I thought about how this decision is a victory for all of us.
The Supreme Court said the United States is "a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands." That means, regardless of whether you agree with my beliefs, you are free to speak consistent with the core of who you are.
This is true whether you are an atheist or a Christian, a Democrat or Republican, a supporter of same-sex marriage or someone who identifies as LGBT.
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We will all disagree about something at some point. And that’s OK. Disagreement is not discrimination. The Supreme Court made very clear that the government can’t falsely label our speech as discrimination in order to censor it. This should be welcome news for everyone, because censorship is like poisonous gas. When the winds shift, it can harm any of us.
Lorie Smith, owner of 303 Creative, poses at her studio in Littleton, United States on Nov. 15, 2022. (Rachel Woolf for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Sadly, some egregious falsehoods are being spread about me and my case. I want to set the record straight.
First, I love and serve everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. I have clients who identify as LGBT. I always have, and I always will. This isn’t disputed: Colorado, the lower courts, and now the U.S. Supreme Court all agree with this truth.
Second, I firmly believe no one should be denied services based on who they are. That’s why I’ve always decided whether to create a project based on what message is requested, never who is asking.
There are some messages I can’t create no matter who asks, including certain political messages and messages that would disparage people, including those who identify as LGBT. Again, Colorado, the lower courts and the Supreme Court agreed.
The Supreme Court explicitly and repeatedly stated that, under its decision, no Americans will be discriminated against, and no one will be forced to say things they don’t believe.
Third, there’s also been some deeply painful and despicable allegations about a request I received shortly after I filed my pre-enforcement lawsuit in September 2016. When I received the request through my contact form on September 21, 2016 (the day after I filed my lawsuit), I had no reason to believe it wasn’t genuine.
After all, it was a request from Stewart and Mike for a wedding website. As I’ve always done with all wedding-related requests, I didn’t respond, because I knew Colorado could punish me for doing so (just like officials did to Jack Phillips when he responded to a similar request).
But whether this particular request was genuine or whether I was being baited, I’ll never know. I receive a lot of requests — some appear genuine as this one did, and I’m also trolled regularly. But it didn’t matter then — and it doesn’t matter now — to the integrity and veracity of my pre-enforcement case.
Jack Phillips, who won his case with the Supreme Court five years ago after he objected to designing a wedding cake for a gay couple, speaks to supporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Dec. 5, 2022. (AP)
Colorado was violating my constitutional rights, so I filed a perfectly legitimate pre-enforcement lawsuit through my attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom. Full stop. I chose to file a pre-enforcement case because I knew Colorado could punish me if I created art consistent with my beliefs about marriage just like it has repeatedly gone after cake artist Jack Philips.
Rather than wait in fear and trepidation to be sued by Colorado or activists, I decided free speech is worthy of protecting, and I didn’t want to be muzzled by my own government.
Thankfully, the Supreme Court said Colorado couldn’t do that to me. And the government can’t do that to you either, explained the ruling: "The opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong."
Despite this victory, I continue to face horrific attacks — people saying they wish I was dead, that I’d be raped, that they want to burn my house to the ground, that they know where I live and want to come kill my family, and the list goes on.
My 303 Creative website crashed over the weekend because I was getting so many hateful and bigoted messages and requests for websites that would make your skin crawl.
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But despite desperate attempts to malign me and my victory at the Supreme Court, I choose to exercise the Golden Rule that, if we want freedom for ourselves, we must defend it for others — including the people who disagree with my beliefs. After all, the Supreme Court protected their free-speech rights, too.
As someone who used to be a supporter of same-sex marriage, I know the significance of being free to speak consistent with what we believe. While my beliefs on marriage have changed, I want you to have the freedom to speak consistent with yours.
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This beautiful freedom is what makes this great country free and not a totalitarian regime like so many of our ancestors endured.
I hope you will actually read the Supreme Court’s decision in my case and make up your own mind. Don’t believe the fake news and deceptive news stories you see online. I hope you will also join me in being a good neighbor, treating those around us with a basic, mutual respect, and loving everyone, knowing that we are all freer today than we were yesterday.
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