CNN analyst Van Jones pointed criticism for the Supreme Court on Thursday over what he described as the high court’s ever-more out-of-touch decisions. Jones said the court’s decisions which …
My cousin or my best friend or myself who might be gay or lesbian, any store they walk in they might get discriminated against because the Supreme Court says it’s OK
This is irresponsibly wrong, and I’m really surprised this is what you hear on a national network.
Breaking it down:
The Supreme Court found that a Colorado law would violate the First Amendment as it’s currently written
The law says that businesses cannot deny any service to members of a protected class based on their membership in that class
The business owner in question offers services that involve creating expressive works (protected by 1A)
The Court found that Colorado cannot prohibit the owner from refusing to create an expressive work with a message they disagree with.
Here’s what the Court did NOT find:
Business can deny service to any person because they’re LGBTQA.
This was not the question before the court, and in fact the business owner in this case stipulated that she already does not deny service to anyone based on their membership in a protected group.
Businesses can refuse to create an expressive work for any person because they’re LGBTQA
It’s not the fact that the person is gay, but that the message of the requested work is objectionable to the owner. Colorado cannot compel expression, per the Constitution.
And yet Van Jones is out here embarrassing himself and misinforming people who are LOOKING for a reason to be angry. Be angry about the facts, if you must be angry about anything.
This is irresponsibly wrong, and I’m really surprised this is what you hear on a national network.
Breaking it down:
Here’s what the Court did NOT find:
And yet Van Jones is out here embarrassing himself and misinforming people who are LOOKING for a reason to be angry. Be angry about the facts, if you must be angry about anything.