Posted July 13th, 2023 in Top Stories with Tags Firm Statements

NJL Statement on Supreme Court’s Ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis

Nilan Johnson Lewis (NJL) is disturbed and deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, in which the Court overturned established precedent by deciding that certain businesses, though open to the public, have a First Amendment right to refuse to serve individuals based on their sexual orientation.

 NJL agrees with the dissenting justices that “the duty to serve without unjust discrimination is owed to everyone,” and is troubled by the potential far reaching effects and implications of a law which allows discrimination of a protected class. This decision comes after a long line of legislation meant to target and discriminate against members of the LGBTQ+ community across the nation and remove the promise of equal protection under the law.

 Even though the professionals at NJL believe the Court has chosen to stray from this notion, NJL continues to stand committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ community: “For the ‘promise of freedom’ is an empty one if the Government is ‘powerless to assure that a dollar in the hands of [one person] will purchase the same thing as a dollar in the hands of a[nother].’” (Sotomayor, J. dissenting).