If you’ve been paying attention to the news or (Heaven help you) been on social media, particularly twitter, you know that this past week, the U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a number of controvertial decisions, ones that have (once again) polarized conservatives and liberals (or Christians and everyone else it seems).

I’m only going to discuss one and my discussion will not be exhaustive. I’m addressing the Supreme Court’s decision that a web designer is allowed to refuse to make a website for gay people. From the left’s perspective, this is blatant discrimination against the LGBTQ (and so on) community and goes well beyond whether or not a Christian baker must make a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding.

Opponents of the decision say this opens to door for any business anywhere to refuse to serve any LGBTQ customer “just because.” But is that what it really means?

I chose the NPR story because it includes a frame allowing readers to go through the entire Supreme Court written decision. But it’s seventy pages long, so I’m not reading it.

On the other hand, the story does summarize the key points.

The decision was limited because much of what might have been contested about the facts of the case was stipulated–namely that Smith intends to work with couples to produce a customized story for their websites, using her words and original artwork. Given those facts, (Justice Neil ) Gorsuch said, Smith qualifies for constitutional protection.

So the basis upon which the web designer may refuse to work with LGBTQ people is somewhat limited, but it still seems kind of vague to me.

Further…

Continue reading What About Websites, Wedding Cakes, and Gay Customers? →