Free Speech, Same-Sex Marriage, and Anti-Discrimination Laws

Since the Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 a variety of issues surrounding the tension between free speech, religious liberty, and anti-discrimination laws have been litigated in the courts. Pending at the Supreme Court this term is Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington, a case about whether the creation and sale of floral arrangement to celebrate a wedding ceremony is artistic expression, and, if so, whether compelling their creation violates the free speech clause of the Constitution. Sherif Girgis, a doctoral student in philosophy at Princeton University and graduate of Yale Law School, and Matthew Hall, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, will discuss the merits of the free speech arguments at play in cases such as Arlene’s Flowers.

Sponsor: Federalist Society & the Program on Church, State, and Society