Supreme Court Backs Web Designer Against Same-Sex Marriage

  • Ruling marks win for conservatives opposed to gay marriage
  • Justices vote 6-3 along ideological lines on free speech issue

The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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A divided US Supreme Court carved out a First Amendment exception to laws barring businesses from discriminating, ruling that a Christian website designer has a free-speech right to create wedding pages only for opposite-sex couples.

Voting 6-3 along ideological lines, the court said the Constitution requires allowances for businesses that engage in expressive activities, rejecting Colorado’s contention that the designer would be discriminating against LGBTQ people.