Sen. Cruz on the Supreme Court’s Decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis: ‘A Victory for Free Exercise All Across the U.S.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution in the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case.

Sen. Cruz said, “Today, the Supreme Court rightly decided that Colorado’s state law unconstitutionally restricts the fundamental First Amendment rights of business owners. Before today’s ruling, the state of Colorado wanted to compel the speech of Christian artists and business owners who declined to use their God-given talents to celebrate views that run contrary to what their faith teaches. This law wasn’t just a threat to Christians either. Should a Muslim artist be compelled by the government to draw the image of Muhammed? Should Jewish artists be forced to create art that is antisemitic? No, absolutely not. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case is a victory for the First Amendment not just in Colorado, but all across the United States.”

BACKGROUND:

Sen. Cruz has led the fight for religious liberty and free speech in the U.S. Senate:

• Sen. Cruz secured unanimous passage by the United States Senate of his resolution establishing that antisemitism is a unique form of hatred and condemning all forms of antisemitism.
• Sen. Cruz has led the fight to hold Big Tech accountable for their censorship policies and questioned the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Google about Big Tech’s repeated political censorship, election interference, and reforming rules governing social media companies.
• During the pandemic, Sen. Cruz led the fight for religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
• In case after case where our religious liberty is at stake, Sen. Cruz petitions the Supreme Court to side with the Constitution and preserve religious liberty – whether its making sure a Christian artist can design wedding websites according to her conscience, a football coachcan pray before a game, or Christian schools are able to operate without being discriminated against by the state, Sen. Cruz is a passionate defender of religious liberty.
• Sen. Cruz has long been an advocate for religious freedom, leading the effort to unequivocally condemn the antisemitic terrorist attack that occurred at Congregation Beth Israel in January 2022.
• Sen. Cruz has continually fought for parental rights in education. In 2021, he introduced the END CRT Act, and demanded the DOJ not interfere with local school board meetings or threaten the use of federal law enforcement to deter parents’ free speech.

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