Copeland: Colorado vs. the First Amendment

By Dr. Tom Copeland | Commentary, Denver Gazette

The left in Colorado is assaulting the First Amendment, and all three branches of government are culprits.

Start with the governor-appointed Colorado Civil Rights Commission (CCRC). In a recent victory for free speech rights, website designer Lorie Smith of 303 Creative won a settlement from the CCRC to pay her $1.5 million in legal fees for defending her right to choose what messages her creative work will convey. The commission’s aggressive drive for government-mandated speech will cost taxpayers — not the commissioners — real dollars.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court put CCRC in its place when it ruled that the commission had demonstrated extreme bias against Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop because of his religious convictions. But the commission later countenanced additional cases against Phillips over his deeply held beliefs. There’s a pattern here.

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