Friday, June 30, 2023

Breaking News: We Now Have Two Sets Of Laws

 At one time we had what was called the Lemon Test in 1971 the Supreme Court had a ruling on when a law violates the First Amendment in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzmann
The Lemon Test has three prongs, each a requirement for state action to be deemed constitutional under the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution: (1) the law must have a secular purpose, (2) the primary effect of the law must not infringe on or promote religion, and (3) the law should not unduly entangle government with religion.
But that all went out the window today.
AP News
By Jessica Gresko
June 30, 2023


In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples.

The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.

Smith’s opponents warned that a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate, refusing to serve Black, Jewish or Muslim customers, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants. But Smith and her supporters had said that a ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their beliefs.
Every non-discrimination law in the United States was just overturned!
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court’s six conservative justices that the First Amendment “envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.”
This will go down in history as the new Dred Scott decision.
In this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts. The opinion also stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory.
In the current ruling they just overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1964! All they have to say are the magic words… “It is against my religious beliefs” and voilà you don’t have to obey the law!
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent that was joined by the court’s other liberals. “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,” Sotomayor wrote.
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Minor Victories will be published at a latter date (July 14th @ 11:00AM)!

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