Colorado to pay $1.5M to settle anti-marriage equality 303 Creative SCOTUS case

Following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, the state of Colorado has agreed to pay over $1.5 million in legal fees to a web designer who refused to provide creative content for a same-sex couple’s wedding, Colorado Public Radio reported.

Lorie Smith and her business 303 Creative LLC sued the state and Aubrey Elenis in her role as director of the Colorado Civil Rights Division, claiming the state’s anti-discrimination laws violated her First Amendment rights. Smith is a Christian who objects to marriage equality on religious grounds.

She took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments last year. In a 6-3 decision reflecting the court’s new conservative block, the justices agreed with Smith and sent the case back to the lower court for resolution.

“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,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion issued last year during Pride Month.

“Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a scathing dissent.

Smith and 303 Creative LLC were represented by the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. The group’s senior counsel Bryan Neihart hailed the initial ruling as well as the settlement in an emailed statement.

“Our clients Lorie Smith and her design studio, 303 Creative, prevailed at the US Supreme Court and achieved a landmark victory — a victory that helps to protect all Americans’ freedom of speech from government censorship and coercion,” Neihart said in a statement provided to the media.

The $1.5 million settlement is expected to be finalized later this month. The amount is significantly less than the $2 million requested by Smith.