To attain America’s ideals of freedom and equality, businesses and other public accommodations must be open to all. No one should be refused service because of protected characteristics like the color of their skin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
But religious extremists are urging courts to grant businesses the right to misuse religious freedom to deny service to customers. This dangerous agenda harms all of us, but LGBTQ people and religious minorities are especially at risk when they seek goods and services.
We refuse to go back to the days when religious and racial minorities would encounter signs that said things like, “No Jews or Women Allowed.” That’s why Americans United is fighting back in the courts, in Congress, and in state legislatures to reject efforts to use religion to harm others.
Religious extremist legal groups are demanding that courts grant businesses the right to use religion to reject LGBTQ customers.
The Supreme Court refused to hear Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington, leaving in place a lower court ruling that the business had violated anti-discrimination laws when it refused to sell to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed for their wedding.
In a 2021 PRRI poll, the majority of Americans – 61% – said small businesses should not be able to use religion to refuse service to LGBTQ customers.
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