Report: Man Denies Cited Request in Landmark LGBTQ Case

A man cited in a landmark Supreme Court case has denied his alleged involvement, according to a report made Monday by The Hill.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that web designer Lorie Smith, a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites, can refuse to work with same-sex couples.

Smith had argued that a Colorado law which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender, and other characteristics violates her free speech rights.

The web designer claimed that one day after filing her lawsuit, a man requested that she design a website for his upcoming same-sex marriage. However, the man identified as “Stewart” told The Hill that he has been married to a woman for more than a decade, and that he never submitted the inquiry.

In their 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis opinions, Supreme Court justices made no reference to the supposed request. Additionally, Smith only briefly mentioned it in filings at the high court after she and her lawyers had cited the request on multiple occasions in the lower courts.

“I’m just really disappointed in the ongoing and sustained attacks on the LGBTQ community in this country, and I’m also disappointed and concerned about the lack of rigor that’s been shown by the lawyers in this case,” Stewart told The Hill.

“There’s some evidence there which is easily refutable and easily proven to be incorrect and has been in the case filings for the last five plus years. So it’s concerning that that could make it all the way to the Supreme Court without anybody checking.”

Stewart, who also runs a website and graphic design company, told The Hill that he only learned of his alleged connection to the case after being contacted last week by The New Republic.

He confirmed that the email and phone number listed on the supposed request belonged to him, though he also said he has been married to a woman for more than a decade.

The request listed the sender’s IP address, which corresponds to the San Francisco area, where Stewart lives.

“I did not submit the request. I don’t know who did. I don’t know what their motivations would be,” Stewart told The Hill.

The Christian legal organization that represented Smith said the designer doesn’t do background checks on incoming requests to determine if they are genuine, and that it doesn’t impact the outcome because her lawsuit was a pre-enforcement challenge.

“Whether Lorie received a legitimate request or whether someone lied to her is irrelevant,” Alliance Defending Freedom said, according to The Hill’s report. “No one should have to wait to be punished by the government to challenge an unjust law. Moreover, Lorie has received other wedding requests and has been unable to respond to any request because that put her at risk of punishment for violating Colorado’s unjust law.”

The Hill reported that two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican-appointed judge on a lower appeals court panel all agreed that Smith had authority to bring her lawsuit regardless of Stewart’s request.

Colorado’s law was upheld as being constitutional in the lower court before the appeal to the Supreme Court.