Fed court rules for free speech and religious freedom

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the videographers would not have to video a same-sex wedding and thus upheld the constitutional order, limited the reach of expansive nondiscrimination laws, and protected a Christian couple from having to choose between their business and their conscience.

The plaintiffs, Carl and Angel Larsen, are videographers who create “commercials, short films, and live-event productions.” While they work with anyone of any race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion, they will not produce videos that advance viewpoints that violate their Christian beliefs. That seems to be a right that we all would want--the right to decide what we find goes against our moral and/or religious beliefs.

That includes videos that “contradict biblical truth; promote sexual immorality; support the destruction of unborn children; promote racism or racial division; incite violence; degrade women; or promote any conception of marriage other than as a lifelong institution between one man and one woman.”

The Larsens had hoped to start producing wedding videos, however, Minnesota interpreted its human-rights act to require them to “produce both opposite-sex- and same-sex-wedding videos, or none at all.” 

Minnesota would also require them to produce videos that depicted “same- and opposite-sex weddings in an equally ‘positive’ light.” This raised the possibility that a gay or lesbian couple who didn’t like the subjective quality of a video the Larsens produced for their wedding could seek state sanctions based on alleged sexual-orientation discrimination. 

In other words, it gave more rights to the gay and lesbian people than to those who see same sex marriage and behavior as a sin or immoral.

With the assistance of David French and others, at the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Larsens filed suit, claiming that Minnesota’s rule would compel them to speak in support of messages they oppose. The trial court ruled in favor of the state, and the Larsens appealed.

The question then became whether the First Amendment will continue to retain its supremacy and potency as regulations and nondiscrimination rules grow ever so larger. Happily, the answer was a loud "Yes," through a majority opinion that now provides future courts with a clear roadmap to adjudicate.

As David French writes: Judge David Stras’s majority opinion begins with a simple, obvious, but crucial conclusion. The Larsens’s wedding videos are a “form of speech that is entitled to First Amendment protection.” Though they don’t make feature films, their wedding videos would still clearly communicate a message in the same way that films do. As the court explained, their wedding videos would be designed to tell “healthy stories of sacrificial love and commitment between a man and a woman” and celebrate the “divinely ordained” marriage covenant. 

Moreover, the fact that the Larsens were producing videos for profit did not diminish their constitutional protection. Documentaries make money. Feature films make money. Are they not clearly protected speech? To put it plainly, Minnesota was attempting to engage in one of the most intrusive state actions on the First Amendment. It was attempting to compel the Larsens to deliver a message they opposed.

If you listen quietly, you can hear the left sobbing at the sky, as Bill Maher and Bette Midler scream for Judge Stras' slow and painful death.

French adds:

There are those who will claim that this decision will clear the way for wholesale discrimination in the name of “free speech.” It will do no such thing. Instead it will protect a small minority of creative professionals who do not discriminate against any member of any protected class from being conscripted into saying things they do not believe.

This is a wonderful win for religious freedom and the First Amendment. But we can expect Minnesota to appeal to the Supreme Court but if it's reviewed, it will be hard to see SCOTUS reversing the court of appeals.

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