Fox contributor says new SCOTUS ruling on denying service to LGBTQ people is “one of the greatest free speech opinions in history”
Jonathan Turley added that the 303 Creative ruling was “everything we hoped it would be”
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From the June 30, 2023, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus
GILLIAN TURNER (CORRESPONDENT): This from Justice Neil Gorsuch's opinion. “Tolerance, not coercion, is our nation's answer. The First Amendment envisions the U.S. as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands." And then this is from the dissenting opinion, “Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people. The Supreme Court declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse service to members of a protected class. The court does so for the first time in its history." How do you see it, Jonathan? Is this a protection of First Amendment rights or is this a denial of rights to people in the LGBTQ+ community?
JONATHAN TURLEY (CONTRIBUTOR): This will go down as one of the greatest free speech opinions in history. It clarified areas that have long been uncertain and muddled to the detriment of free speech. I've been following this case since it was before the 10th Circuit. In the 10th Circuit opinion, where Gorsuch served, he is a native of Colorado, the 10th Circuit said that CADA, which is the underlying commission of the law, said that the whole purpose here is the elimination of ideas. Then the court ruled for the commission in doing that. And what Gorsuch said is, well, the First Amendment has a different purpose. It is meant to guarantee citizens that they can speak about their own values and to prevent them from being, of having to speak when coerced to do so by the government.
It is an enormously important decision. It is beautifully written by Gorsuch. In fact, I don't think anyone could have written this opinion as well as Gorsuch. And what it says is that, yes, you are still required under public accommodation laws not to discriminate. But when it comes to products that are creative or expressive, the First Amendment does protect you. It protects everyone. All the members of every community, including those cited by the dissent. It is a roaring defense of free speech and for those of us in the free speech community, it is everything we hoped it would be.