WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday sounded ready to rule that a Christian website designer has a free-speech right to refuse to work with same-sex couples planning to marry.
The justices heard arguments in a Colorado case that posed a conflict between the First Amendment rights of a business owner and a state anti-discrimination law that gives customers a right to equal service without regard to their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
The outcome could cut out a hole in the laws of 22 mostly blue states that directly forbid discrimination against LGBTQ customers.
