The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Phoenix cannot use a criminal law to force two Christian artists to design and create custom wedding invitations expressing messages that conflict with their core beliefs, including same-sex weddings. Such coercion, the court held, would violate the fundamental principle that “an individual has autonomy over his or her speech and thus may not be forced to speak a message he or she does not wish to say.” The court ruled in favor of Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio, who were under threat of up to six months of jail time, $2,500 in fines, and three years of probation for each day the city would find them in violation of the law.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Duka and Koski filed suit against Phoenix because it interprets its law in a way that illegally controls artistic expression and disregards religious liberty. The court agreed and found that the law violates the freedom of Duka and Koski to express messages consistent with their religious beliefs through their custom wedding invitations.
