Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is co-leading a 14-state coalition in filing an Amicus Brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review and protect the freedom of speech and religious refusal rights of a Washington state florist, who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding. The florist was sued by the state of Washington under its discrimination law and an unfair business practices act. Rutledge says the florist’s freedom of speech is protected under the U.S. Constitution. University of Arkansas School of Law Associate Professor Danielle Weatherby, an expert on First Amendment jurisprudence and impacts on speech and diverse society, says the Arlene's Flowers case, now before the Washington State Supreme Court, is one of two major religious refusal court cases in play. The other is the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. The U.S. Supreme Court in June agreed to hear an appeal from a Lakewood, Colorado owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop who lost a discrimination case for refusing to create a cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding. Both cases are a test of state laws that ban public businesses with religious preferences from accommodating same-sex couples.
