“In some places, the dissent gets so turned around about the facts that it opens fire on its own position,” Gorsuch wrote.
“For instance: While stressing that a Colorado company cannot refuse ‘the full and equal enjoyment of [its] services’ based on a customer’s protected status … the dissent assures us that a company selling creative services ‘to the public’ does have a right ‘to decide what messages to include or not to include …’ But if that is true, what are we even debating?”
Free Speech Issues
Gorsuch argued that the dissent engaged in speculation and hypotheticals rather than focusing on the core elements of the case at hand.
He questioned why the dissent was fixated on including or excluding messages in creative services when the case revolved around a web designer’s First Amendment rights.
Gorsuch further emphasized that the majority’s decision was not a condemnation of public accommodation laws but a defense of individual freedom and tolerance.
Joining Sotomayor in dissent were Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both appointed by Democratic presidents. Sotomayor contended that the majority’s opinion perpetuated social hierarchies and went against the principles underlying public accommodations laws.
