June 2023 was a month full of hate and The Supreme Court decided to end it on a low point with the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis decision.

This court case deals with a challenge to a Colorado law prohibiting public-serving businesses from discriminating against gay people as well as any statements announcing such a policy. The lawsuit centers on Lorie Smith, a website designer for 303 Creative who does not want to provide her services for gay weddings because of her religious objections.

The most troubling part of this case is Smith said she was requested to build a website for a same-sex couple, but the person referenced said he never sent a request and is not gay. Also, Smith’s company, 303 Creative, has never sold or created wedding websites. She admits she entered the public market of web development in order to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, citing her faith and a “calling from God.”

It’s always odd that the ones yelling the loudest about freedom are the very same ones trying the hardest to take it away. How did something this fraudulent make it to the Supreme Court? We wouldn’t be surprised if “Alliance Defending Freedom” a dark money far-right organization faked the whole thing.

The lower courts said the case had no standing and they didn’t hear it. Smith appealed it and the Supreme Court (in their new-found ultimate Christian wisdom) wanted to hear it and made a decision in favor of Smith. GOP Justices used this case as a vehicle to undermine every single federal, state, county, and city anti-discrimination law in the country.

The Associated Press covers how wild this whole case is:

In filings in the 303 Creative v. Elenis case is a supposed request for a gay wedding website—but the man named in the request says he never filed it.

Smith named Stewart — and included a website service request from him, listing his phone number and email address in 2017 court documents. But Stewart told The Associated Press he never submitted the request and didn’t know his name was invoked in the lawsuit until he was contacted this week by a reporter from The New Republic, which first reported his denial.

Smith named Stewart — and included a website service request from him, listing his phone number and email address in 2017 court documents. But Stewart told The Associated Press he never submitted the request and didn’t know his name was invoked in the lawsuit until he was contacted this week by a reporter from The New Republic, which first reported his denial.

“I was incredibly surprised given the fact that I’ve been happily married to a woman for the last 15 years,” said Stewart, who declined to give his last name for fear of harassment and threats. His contact information, but not his last name, was listed in court documents.

Smith’s lawyer, Kristen Waggoner, said at a Friday news conference that the wedding request naming Stewart was submitted through Smith’s website and denied it was fabricated.

She suggested it could have been a troll making the request, something that’s happened with other clients she has represented. In 2018 her client Colorado baker Jack Phillips won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake, citing his Christian faith.

READ THE FULL AP STORY

Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in the case rings true with depressing clarity.

The Alliance Defending Freedom

With the United States besieged by a rightwing culture war campaign that aims to strip away rights from LGBTQ+ community and others, blame tends to be focused on Republican politicians and conservative media figures. But lurking behind efforts to roll back abortion rights, limit contraceptive access, demonize trans people, and peel back the protections afforded to gay and queer Americans is a shadowy, well-funded right-wing legal organization – The Alliance Defending Freedom.

The Attorney for Smith is Karen Waggoner, the CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, a faith-based legal entity that also assisted the team that overturned ROE v. Wade.

The religious right has teamed up with the Republican Party to curtail the rights of others while riling up their base to keep people voting for them. They use polarization and identity politics to employ divisive rhetoric to create a sense of “us vs. them” among their supporters. This can involve framing political issues in terms of identity, such as race, religion, or nationality. By emphasizing these divisions, parties can foster a strong sense of loyalty and solidarity among their supporters, making it easier to shape their beliefs and maintain their support.

Since it was formed in 1994, Alliance Defending Freedom has been at the center of a nationwide effort to limit the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, all in the name of Christianity. The Southern Poverty Law Center has termed it an “anti-LGBTQ hate group” that has extended its tentacles into nearly every area of the culture wars.

Through “model legislation” and lawsuits filed across the country, ADF aims to overturn same-sex marriage, enact a total ban on abortion, and strip away the already minimal rights that trans people are afforded in the US.

Under the Trump administration, the group found its way into the highest echelons of power, advising Jeff Sessions, the then attorney general, before he announced sweeping guidance to protect “religious liberty” which chipped away at LGBTQ+ protections.

The ADF organization has members like Amy Coney Barrett, the supreme court justice who the Washington Post reported spoke five times at an ADF training program established to push a “distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law”.

The goal of the ADF is to limit individual rights as much as possible. If we do not pay more attention and fight back they will be coming for all of us. They go under the guise of religious liberty, and religious freedom. What that means, though, is this religious liberty to discriminate and the religious freedom to invalidate.

It is a sad day for constitutional law, the LGBTQ+ community, and the United States. It is amazing how much hate is in the hearts of some Christians who claim to love and follow the same Christ who hated no one and literally turned no one away. We cannot give up though and must educate others on what is happening and how the Supreme Court has been weaponized, how rich people use entities like the ADF to get their bidding done, and how Republican supporters have been gaslit to hate others.

More about the ADF

  • ADF was founded in 1994 by a group of “leaders in the Christian community”, according to its website. Among those leaders was James Dobson, the founder of the anti-LGBTQ+ Focus on the Family organization who has said the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, was a “judgment” from God because of declining church numbers.
  • The ADF is a well-funded Christian group behind the US effort to roll back LGBTQ+ rights
  • Its leaders remain involved in niche interpretations of Christianity. Kristen Waggoner, the ADF chief executive, also serves as legal counsel to Assemblies of God, a church that encourages worshippers to speak in tongues and believes in “divine healing” – the power of prayer – as a medical tool.
  • This group is the largest backer behind the heavily spammed adverts HeGetsUs ads that you may have seen in during the Super Bowl or all over the Internet. Revealed: Christian legal non-profit funds US anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion organizations

We know plenty of amazing people who vote Republican. We understand what was once the Republican world view and there is honor in those views. That’s gone now. We don’t write these words in hate, we write these words in hopes more Republicans see what is happening and join the rest of us to fight for freedom and equality.

How has the Republican party gaslit its supporters over time: 

  • Republican ideology always needs something to scare their base: race, poverty, gay, trans, etc. McCarthyism, hippies, welfare queens, war on drugs, political correctness, cancel culture, wokeness, grooming are all manufactured concepts that have been used for over 70 years to divide and distract people. These tactics get people to hate others who are different than them by scaring them and divert people away from real issues so the super-rich can continue to make more money while the rest of us argue and struggle. By all means there is some truth to each of those topics being problematic, but not to the extent of your outrage.
  • Since the end of the 1970s a group of people have been slowly chipping away at the middle class by gaslighting people to vote against their own interests.
  • Misinformation and disinformation: Political parties can spread false or misleading information to shape public opinion. This can involve exaggerating or distorting facts, promoting conspiracy theories, or cherry-picking data to support their arguments. Misinformation can create a distorted worldview among supporters, leading them to hold beliefs not based on accurate information.
  • Polarization and identity politics: Parties often employ divisive rhetoric to create a sense of “us vs. them” among their supporters. This can involve framing political issues in terms of identity, such as race, religion, or nationality. By emphasizing these divisions, parties can foster a strong sense of loyalty and solidarity among their supporters, making it easier to shape their beliefs and maintain their support.
  • Manipulating fear and insecurity: Political parties sometimes exploit people’s fears and insecurities by amplifying threats or presenting exaggerated dangers. By framing themselves as protectors or defenders against these perceived threats, parties can engender a sense of dependency and trust among their supporters. This can lead to a willingness to accept and defend policies or positions that may not be in their best interest.
  • Creating alternative narratives: Parties may present alternative narratives or alternative explanations for events, casting doubt on widely accepted facts or challenging the mainstream media’s reporting. This allows them to control the information their supporters receive and shape their understanding of reality. By discrediting opposing viewpoints, parties can reinforce their supporters’ existing beliefs and discourage critical thinking.
  • Echo chambers and media manipulation: Parties can create or exploit echo chambers, where supporters predominantly consume information from sources aligned with their own views. By controlling or influencing media outlets sympathetic to their cause, parties can disseminate narratives that align with their agenda. This limits exposure to alternative perspectives and fosters a cycle of confirmation bias, reinforcing existing beliefs.