Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the Kentucky Supreme Court for ruling in favor of Blaine Adamson’s right to refuse printing messages that violate his religious beliefs. The case began when Adamson, owner of the print shop Hands On Originals, declined to print shirts with messages promoting the Lexington Pride Festival for the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO). Although he declined to print the shirts himself, he offered to connect GLSO to another business who would print their requested shirts. Despite receiving the shirts free of charge from another printer, GLSO filed a complaint against Adamson with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission.
“The right to free speech and the free exercise of religion applies to all aspects of one’s life, not just at home or in a place of worship, and artistic work is an inherently expressive form of free speech protected by the First Amendment,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Forcing individuals to accommodate or affirm beliefs that are contrary to their own faith is un-American and blatantly unconstitutional.”
This case closely resembles the cases of Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop and Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers, two independent business owners forced into lawsuits for asserting their right to religious liberty and denial of custom creations that violated their religious beliefs.
To view the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling, click here.