As president of Alliance Defending Freedom, I’m honored to lead an organization that employs veterans of every branch of the United States military who, among others here, continue to protect our most precious freedoms — just on a different battlefield. Together, we serve our fellow Americans by fighting to preserve religious liberty and free speech for all. While these God-given rights are set out in our Constitution , they would be but words on a page without our veterans.
One of our clients, Lorie Smith , knows this particularly well. Her grandfather served honorably in the United States Air Force through World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Growing up, Lorie was very close to him and learned from his stories to love and honor those who defend freedom.
Now, as an adult and custom graphic designer, Lorie is passionate about creating websites for veteran-owned businesses and for organizations dedicated to serving veterans. And she recently joined the board of a non-profit organization that helps veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder by pairing them with rescue dogs trained to be supportive companions.
Lorie’s grandfather also gave her a deep appreciation for freedom and instilled in her a commitment to protect it, even at great personal cost. That investment is now paying dividends. Lorie’s passion for freedom has taken her all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide this term whether artists such as Lorie have the right to speak freely through their art, or whether the government can compel them to communicate messages that violate their beliefs.
Lorie knows firsthand what it’s like when the government entrusted with protecting freedom instead stifles it. She wants to design custom art and websites that celebrate God’s design for marriage between husband and wife. But Colorado has made clear she’s not welcome in that space and is forcing her to promote views of marriage that go against her sincere beliefs.
That coercion is wrong. It is also unconstitutional.
Lorie’s art is speech, and she serves people from all walks of life, including her clients who identify as LGBT. Everyone, even Colorado, agrees with that. But like most artists, Lorie can only promote messages through her custom art that are consistent with her beliefs. That’s a problem for Colorado officials, who claim the right to dictate what Lorie says.
This December, the Supreme Court will hear her case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, to answer whether the government can force her, or any American, to say things they don’t believe. Under the Constitution, that answer is a resounding “no.”
The Supreme Court has consistently protected Americans from the twin enemies of free speech: government censorship and compelled speech. And for good reason. Free speech is an essential pillar of a just society. It has allowed our nation’s most critical civil rights movements to flourish, securing women’s suffrage, advancing racial equality, and more. Without this freedom, other freedoms soon fall away.
Indeed, if government can prevent citizens from saying what they believe or force them to speak state-approved messages, then our nation will no longer resemble that which Lorie’s grandfather, and countless other heroic men and women, fought to defend. Our democratic government by the people and for the people would be rendered meaningless without the ability to choose when to speak and when to remain silent.
From the War for Independence to today, our constitutional republic has survived every threat, foreign or domestic, because brave Americans have been willing to put their lives and livelihoods on the line “to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, whether in times of peace and prosperity or crisis and calumny, America has remained a beacon of hope to the world. It is “the shining city on a hill” where every man, woman, and child may achieve their greatest potential because of the promise kept by those brave souls standing guard: “Here you are safe and you are free.”
Veterans Day, which began as a day of celebration and commemoration of the end of World War I, serves as a reminder to all of us of the sacrifices borne by those who have served in uniform defending our nation, our Constitution, and our way of life.
Lorie Smith’s case is about preserving those blessings of liberty. In her own way, she is carrying on her family’s legacy of protecting freedom for all of us. No matter your background or beliefs, a win for Lorie at our nation’s highest court will ensure that free speech is truly for everyone — and that America’s promise of freedom is kept safe for years to come.
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Kristen Waggoner is CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom ( @ADFLegal ).
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