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At ‘The Nonwedding of Stewart and Mike’
Dearly beloved, we are nongathered here today…
Melissa Gira Grant’s article “The Mysterious Case of the Fake Gay Marriage Website, the Real Straight Man, and the Supreme Court,” published today in The New Republic, warmly invites us to, as she puts it, “the nonwedding of Stewart and Mike.”
It’s about 303 Creative v. Elenis, in which the Supreme Court will consider web designer Lorie Smith’s challenge to nondiscrimination law. Smith objects to being compelled to accept paying clients should they ask her to design websites for gay weddings. She complains that, in September 2016, some gay named Stewart contacted her to seek design services for his wedding to Mike. Her court filing provides Stewart’s contact info: name, phone, email, website.
So, Gira Grant, as journalists do, called up Stewart, and—HE WAS TOTALLY UNAWARE HE WAS NAMED IN THIS SUPREME COURT CASE. Mainly because he DOES NOT RECALL MAKING and WOULD NEVER HAVE MADE such an inquiry.
Earlier, Smith’s case had treated gay clients as a hypothetical. In October 2016, the state said, well, if no gay people have approached Smith, her case should be dismissed then, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, arguing for Smith, replied, who cares if it’s happened or not, it could happen, and she should be able to sue based on…
