Court upholds Phoenix law over same-sex wedding invitations
Legal Business
An Arizona appeals court on Thursday upheld a Phoenix anti-discrimination law that makes it illegal for businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples because of religion.
The ruling comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The high court found Monday that a Colorado civil rights commission showed anti-religious bias when it ruled against Jack Phillips for refusing to make the cake at his Masterpiece Cakeshop.
The decision, however, did not address the larger issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to refuse service to gay and lesbian people.
In the Arizona case, the state Court of Appeals sided with the city in a lawsuit first brought in 2016 by a wedding invitation business, saying the ordinance is constitutional and does not violate freedom of religion or speech.
"We have previously found that eliminating discrimination constitutes a compelling interest," Judge Lawrence Winthrop wrote, adding that "antidiscrimination ordinances are not aimed at the suppression of speech, but at the elimination of discriminatory conduct."
The court said if Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio, "want to operate their for-profit business as a public accommodation, they cannot discriminate against potential patrons based on sexual orientation."
Attorney Jonathan Scruggs of Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the women, said they intend to appeal the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court limits warrantless vehicle searches near homes
Legal Business 05/28/2018The Supreme Court is putting limits on the ability of police to search vehicles when they do not have a search warrant.The court sided 8-1 Tuesday with a Virginia man who complained that police walked onto his driveway and pulled back a tarp covering...
-
Bitter, expensive fight for Arkansas court seat to drag on
Legal Business 05/19/2018A bitter and expensive fight for an Arkansas Supreme Court seat that drew more than $1 million in outside spending and a flurry of attack ads will drag on for another six months, with an incumbent justice heading into a runoff in November against an ...
-
Olivia de Havilland asks court to revive "Feud" lawsuit
Legal Business 05/04/2018Olivia de Havilland has asked the California Supreme Court to revive her lawsuit against the FX Networks show "Feud: Bette and Joan."Lawyers for the 101-year-old actress filed the appeal Friday, asking the court to reverse an appeals court decision i...