The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday that an artist will not have to comply with a Phoenix ordinance that protects the LBGTQ community from discrimination.
The legal battle began in 2016 when Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio, sued Phoenix — arguing that the ordinance violates their First Amendment and Arizona constitutional rights to free speech and religion.
Arizona Central:
The two women create wedding invitations and other related products. They both believe a marriage is between one man and one woman and by providing services to a same-sex couples, they’re essentially endorsing a marriage that defies their religious beliefs.
Read court case here:
Alliance Defending Freedom(AFD) represented the women in court. This is the same group that represented the Colorado baker whose case went before the US Supreme Court in 2018.
Souther Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists AFD as a hate group because of their extreme, far-right and bigoted views against the LBGTQ Community. SPLC claims they support the “recriminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. and criminalization abroad; has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; has linked homosexuality to pedophilia and claims that a “homosexual agenda” will destroy Christianity and society.”
