Wrote Justice Andrew Gould, for the court\u2019s majority<\/a>: \u201cThe rights of free speech and free exercise, so precious to this nation since its founding, are not limited to soft murmurings behind the doors of a person\u2019s home or church, or private conversations with like-minded friends and family. These guarantees protect the right of every\u00a0American to express their beliefs in public. This includes the right to create and sell words, paintings, and art that express a person\u2019s sincere religious beliefs. With these fundamental principles in mind, today we hold that the City of Phoenix \u2026 cannot apply its Human Relations Ordinance \u2026 to force Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio, LC (\u201cBrush & Nib\u201d), to create custom wedding invitations celebrating same-sex<\/a> wedding ceremonies in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Duka, Koski, and Brush & Nib (\u201cPlaintiffs\u201d) have the right to refuse to express such messages under article 2, section 6 of the Arizona Constitution, as well as Arizona\u2019s Free Exercise of Religion Act (\u201cFERA\u201d), A.R.S. \u00a7 41-1493.01.\u201d<\/p>\n The high court overruled an Arizona Court of Appeals ruling in July 2018<\/a> that\u00a0Brush & Nib Studio in Phoenix<\/a>\u00a0must serve gay<\/a> couples<\/a> in response to the lawsuit, brought by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, the studio\u2019s owners, who had not been asked to provide services by any gay<\/a> couples<\/a>, but were trying to preemptively assert their right to deny service on the basis of religious beliefs.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Phoenix Business Journal<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>: \u201cFiled in 2016, the suit alleged that the non-discrimination order would force them to provide services would violate their freedoms of speech and conflict with their belief that marriage is between one man<\/a> and one woman<\/a>. Duka and Koski had attempted to override a city ordinance that protects LGBT people from discrimination.\u00a0Filed in 2016, the suit alleged that the non-discrimination order would force them to provide services would violate their freedoms of speech and conflict with their belief that marriage is between one man<\/a> and one woman<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Arizona Supreme Court Rules 4-3 That Wedding Invitation Design Studio Can Deny Service to Gay Couples<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n