Court Ruling: Phoenix Artists Don’t Have To Serve LGBT Couples

PHOENIX, AZ – Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Phoenix’s Brush & Nib Studio, no longer have to make custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. Following Duka’s and Koski’s previous lawsuit defeats on the same assertions in Maricopa County Superior Court and the Arizona Court of Appeals, today’s Arizona Supreme Court decision in their favor was reached by a slim 4-3 margin, KPNX reported.

The Brush & Nib Studio lawsuit centered around the owners’ Christian beliefs versus a Phoenix nondiscrimination ordinance revised in 2013, stating that Phoenix business owners cannot discriminate against customers based on gender identity and sexual orientation. At the core of Duka's and Koski’s case was their assertion that the ordinance takes away their Arizona and First Amendment constitutional rights to religious freedom and freedom of speech.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego spoke about the ruling at a press conference at Phoenix City Hall Monday, saying, ”Today’s decision is not a win, but it is not a loss. It means we will continue to have a debate over equality in this community.”

“This decision opens the door for other bigoted owners to outright discriminate against LGBTQ people for who we are and who we love,” tweeted Arizona Democratic Party Vice-Chair Brianna Westbrook following the ruling.

AZ Central reported that the lawsuit’s oral arguments started in January, and that Jonathan Scruggs, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, argued that Duka’s and Koski‘s refusal to make custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples isn’t motivated by customers’ sexual orientation itself. Instead, the refusal is based on the invitation’s message, celebrating a same-sex marriage, which is what the women don’t want to do. They believe a marriage should be between a man and a woman only, in line with their Christian beliefs. However, the women would gladly sell off-the-shelf wedding invitations or a customized home decor piece to a same-sex couple, Scruggs said.

The city of Phoenix’s attorney in the lawsuit, Eric M. Fraser, argued to the contrary, asserting it was really the LGBT customers and not the invitations’ message to which Brush & Nib Studio are taking exception. He also argued that the ordinance mandates that companies offer identical services to all customer groups, according to an AZ Central account.

The 110-page Arizona Supreme Court ruling declared that that the Phoenix nondiscrimination ordinance at the heart of the lawsuit is in violation of the constitution. The court further declared that Brush & Nib Studio is not required under the Phoenix ordinance to design same-sex wedding invitations.

The ruling states, “The 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’s home or church, or private conversations with like-minded friends and family. These guarantees protect the right of every American to express their beliefs in public. This includes the right to create and sell words, paintings, and art that express a person’s sincere religious beliefs.

“The City of Phoenix cannot apply its Human Relations Ordinance to force Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studios, to create custom wedding invitations celebrating same-sex wedding ceremonies in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Duka, Koski, and Brush & Nib have the right to refuse to express such messages under Article 2, Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution, as well as Arizona’s Free Exercise of Religion Act.

“To conclude, we hold that the Ordinance, as applied to Plaintiffs’ custom wedding invitations, and the creation of those invitations, unconstitutionally compels speech in violation of the Arizona constitution’s free speech clause,” the ruling states, as reported by ABC 15. “Finally, because Plaintiffs’ intended refusal to make custom wedding invitations celebrating a same-sex wedding is legal activity under Arizona’s free speech clause … Plaintiffs are entitled to post a statement, consistent with our holding today, indicating this choice.”

KPNX reported that judges who ruled in favor of Duka and Koski were John Lopez, Andrew Gould, Clint Bolick and John Pelander. Justices who ruled against were Ann Timmer, Scott Bales and Appellate Court Judge Christopher Staring, who filled in for self-recused Justice Robert Brutinel. No LGBT discrimination complaints have ever been lodged against Duka and Koski.