View article

Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 1 the Supreme Court did the former, but not enough of the latter. The case presented a legal conflict between LGBT rights and religious liberty. But the Court ducked central questions raised by that conflict. Rather than sorting out the principles for determining whether religious liberty authorizes discrimination against gays and lesbians in the marketplace, the Court focused on whether state officials treated religious objections with the proper respect and consideration. The Court turned a matter of constitutional principle into one of adjudicative etiquette. Masterpiece was the first wedding-vendor case taken up by the Supreme Court. All sorts of businesses in the wedding industry have refused on religious grounds to serve gays and lesbians as they celebrate their marriages. Bakers, photographers, florists, graphic designers, videographers, and the owners of wedding venues …