SW News: In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot force business owners to broadcast beliefs that are diametrically opposed to their personal values under the First Amendment.

The highest court judgment might have far-reaching consequences for the rights to free speech and religious freedom. According to the court records in 303 Creative v. Elenis, the dispute centered around Lorie Smith, a web designer who is morally opposed to developing websites that promote same-sex marriages.

She filed a lawsuit to protect her right to free expression after the state of Colorado threatened her with legal action based on discrimination if she did not. The Supreme Court has now affirmed that legal safeguard.

According to New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, head of the USCCB Committee on Religious Liberty, the issue is moral diversity, and the government must allow citizens to differ on fundamental issues, even if the opposing opinion is contentious.

Dolan further said that Ms. Smith has no problem working with customers who want her to design websites for people who are similar to her. Similarly, the Church's missions provide material assistance and compassionate care to anyone in need, regardless of who they are. The only time we have issues is when the government attempts to compel us to do something we know is bad.

Smith, the company's founder, and an evangelical Christian, has been vocal about her belief that only heterosexual couples should be legally allowed to be married. In 2016, Smith brought a lawsuit against the state to overturn its public accommodations statute. She took her case all the way to the Supreme Court after losing in lower courts against Colorado. Columbia University professor and head of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law Katherine Franke disagrees, calling the kind of injunction she requested a "pre-enforcement order."