LGBTQ+, legal groups on heightened alert after SCOTUS ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of a Colorado Christian web designer who doesn't want to serve LGBTQ people, citing free speech protections for their work.

Just like in Colorado, Washington has a series of laws that provide legal protections for people on the basis of different protected identities, including sexual orientation.

The web designer preemptively sued the state of Colorado arguing its anti-discrimination laws violated her right to refuse her creative services to LGBTQ people under free speech protections.

The court agreed.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the ruling only applies to a very specific type of business.

“The decision is deeply harmful, full stop. But it also applies to a very narrow group of purely artistic businesses. The vast majority of Washington businesses — selling goods and services other than custom-designed products — must still abide by the clear anti-discrimination mandates in our state," Ferguson said. "If they don’t, my office will take action."

The Washington branch of the American Civil Liberties Union used this example: A tailor could refuse to design a custom suit for a same-sex wedding, but a department store couldn’t refuse to sell them an off-the-rack suit.

The ACLU and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Lambda Legal said they are concerned that this could lead to further discrimination against historically marginalized groups — that could mean race, sexual orientation, or other intersecting identities.

Karen Loewy is senior counsel and director of constitutional law practice at Lambda Legal.

“Those who are looking for an excuse to discriminate are going to try and use this decision as permission to do so,” Loewy said.