A Christian graphic designer in Colorado is filing a federal lawsuit, arguing that the government cannot force her to promote same-sex marriage through her work.
According to The Christian Institute, the woman is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The lawsuit is a pre-enforcement challenge of the government’s policy that artists are banned from expressing their religious views about marriage.
The woman hasn’t encountered a particular situation in which she has been forced to design something contrary to her convictions, but under Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), if she was asked to do so, she would not be able to legally refuse.
The law states that artists cannot express religious views which may make someone feel “unwelcome, objectionable, unacceptable, or undesirable” regarding their sexual orientation.
“Artists shouldn’t be threatened with punishment for disagreeing with the government’s preferred views,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco.
ADF Legal Counsel Samuel Green added that “It’s unlawful to force an artist to create against her will and intimidate her into silence just because the government disagrees with her beliefs.”
The CADA is the same law that has been invoked in the case of the Colorado baker who was prosecuted for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
