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Dec. 6, 2022, 5:15 p.m.

Supreme Court hears case pitting gay rights against religious freedom

Summary

The rights of same-sex couples are once again before the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices on Monday heard arguments in a case that wrestles with the blurred lines separating free speech, religious beliefs and discrimination. John Yang looks at the history of the case and speaks with Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal to discuss the legal arguments on both sides of the debate. For a transcript of this story, click here .

Five Facts

  • Who brought the case to the Supreme Court discussed in this story?
  • What are the reasons Lorie Smith thinks she should be able to refuse to design websites for some customers?
  • Where and When did Smith first file the case?
  • Why is this case different from past cases, such as the Masterpiece Cake Shop case mentioned in this story?
  • How would a ruling in favor of Smith impact the rights of LGBTQ people? Who else might be impacted?

Focus Questions

Who are some of the people who might be most affected by a ruling one way or the other in this case? What will be some of the impacts of the ruling in this case of people's day to day lives? Media literacy : Why do you think the producers led the story by interviewing the woman who brought the case to the Supreme Court?

For More

What students can do: Discuss how this court has viewed recent religious freedom claims after watching this video from last year:

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