In a recent op-ed published in The Hill, Free Speech For People Chairman and Senior Legal Advisor Ben Clements argues that the Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis not only greenlights discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community, but it opens the door to legalizing discrimination against historically marginalized groups:

“The court’s willful failure to distinguish discriminatory conduct from speech is not just a blow to LGBTQ rights and dignity…[the decision] makes free speech a potential license for businesses and individuals to disregard legal protections for disadvantaged groups — and virtually any other state or federal law that advances a value with which they disagree.”

Justice Gorsuch’s reasoning in the majority opinion, Clements states, would permit widespread discrimination under the guise of “free speech” across all “expressive” settings, including the arts, education, technology, law, science, and hospitality. Along with this same majority’s end-of-term cases banning affirmative action and invalidating student debt relief, all on the anniversary of their decision eliminating reproductive freedom, this case continues their implementation of the agenda of their far-right constituents, including Federalist Society and dark money leader Leonard Leo, who have spent decades remaking the courts in favor of the interests of the powerful, wealthy, white, male, Christian, heterosexual groups.

Clements argues there are two steps that President Biden and Congress must take to address the Court’s partisan takeover: enact legislation creating ethics rules for Supreme Court justices at least on par with those of other federal judges, and expand the Supreme Court to place an immediate check on the justices working to roll back the rights and freedoms of Americans under the Constitution.

Read the full op-ed here.