The City of West Hollywood released an official statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.
“The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled today that there is a constitutional right to free speech that allows businesses to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings. The City of West Hollywood expresses profound disappointment in this Supreme Court decision. Equal means equal. There should be no opportunity for our country’s highest court to sideline the dignity and rights of LGBTQ people. We must do better as a nation. In West Hollywood, we embrace a core value of respect and support for all people. Discrimination should never be tolerated. We will continue our tireless fight for full equality for LGBTQ people everywhere.”
Mayor Sepi Shyne released a statement of her own on Instagram titled “Wake the fuck up America.” The mayor likens the ruling to the Islamic Republic’s takeover of Iran, her home country, and warns that other minorities such as Jews and people of color will “be next.” She ends the statement with a call to donate to her campaign for Congress:
View this post on Instagram
Hi, City of West Hollywood! Mayor Sepi Shine here. The Supreme Court just gave a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people to businesses claiming religious reasons. I’ve shared this story before, and I’m going to do it again and again in my second year of college. I was holding hands with my girlfriend at the time in a coffee shop when the manager and a police officer literally threw us out, saying, “The manager doesn’t want your kind in this establishment.” That was illegal back then, but guess what? After this ruling, things like that aren’t illegal anymore.
We fought so hard for many years to have equality as LGBTQ people, to have respect, decency, and to feel safe when we’re out holding hands, going to businesses. Now, the Supreme Court just ruled that we are not equal citizens anymore. They are literally reverting us to second-class citizens, and that is wrong—so wrong. And this isn’t just about LGBTQ people. People of color are going to be next. Jewish people are going to be next. People with disabilities could be next.
I need the whole community to wake up. LGBTQ youth, wake up! People need to see what’s happening in this country. Religious extremism has taken over our government and the Supreme Court, and we are all going to lose our rights. That’s why I’m running for Congress—to fight for our rights so that America doesn’t become Iran. Because that’s exactly what happened in Iran. Religious extremists took over the country and took away everyone’s rights. The same thing is happening in America, and we have to stop it. That’s why I’m running for Congress. I want to fight for all of us, stop this from happening, and be a voice for equity and equality. That’s what I’ve always done, and I will continue to do so.
Tonight is my deadline for this campaign, and I still have to raise another $30,000. So please, if you are in this fight with me for equality for everyone, go to www.sepishyne.com and donate right now.
WAKE THE FxxxK UP SEPI SHYNE! You apparently campaigned for the West Hollywood City Council on false pretenses. You not only embellished your past but you made unfulfillable promises to the community. You promised to be an attentive City Council member and promote harmony in the community full well knowing you were itching to even the scores with those in the world you perceived to have wronged you. You claimed to be a savior to perceived victims of countless stripes. You lecture the residents at every council meeting on the latest developments inside Iran and paint yourself as Joan of… Read more »
West Hollywood voters remember this the next time you vote for aextremists like Septic Shyne (who got where she is with MONEY FROM anarchist George Soros), “Lie down with stray dogs, get up with fleas.”
Let’s say that Sepi owns a graphic arts business on the side. Would she be ok being forced to create a new logo for West Hollywood for Trump 2024 Campaign?
Supporting Trump is comparable to one’s race or sexual orientation now? It very well might be a mental handicap, I’ll give you that much. Good comparison Jake Lee, well thought out.
Devious, deranged and desperate. Claims two decades of activism for LGBTQ community but no substantial evidence.
And also, wow – Sepi Shine seems unhinged and grandstanding for a congressional role she will never get instead of being Mayor
Isn’t it rich that she has tacky sailor mouth outburst headlined as clickbait all to just beg for money for her crongressional campaign. Too bad she failed west hollywood so miserably and wants to leave. There’s an old saying, ” if they’re running you out of town – jump in front and pretend it’s a parade”. She is the Sarah Palin of local politics. #sad
Wanna bet Robert’s panties are in a twist now that he knows the case is a fraud?? He is going to have to deal with this.
“As we all know, courts do not issue advisory opinions on hypothetical questions – hence the requirement of an “actual case or controversy, even in a declaratory judgment action “
On second glance this looks like a Wanted Poster Photo only for the Unwanted Sepi Shyne. Additionally if one reads the other IG posts, it shows the locations to where Sepi has been traveling to obtain votes with a focus on that rather than her elected responsibilities as West Hollywood City Council Member and Titular Mayor. If anyone recalls the path of Pete Buttigieg, a reasonable comparison, prior to and after Mayorship of South Bend, Indiana and how he focused on his responsibilities as Mayor. A far cry from what we are seeing.
That dude couldn’t even fix a small town’s potholes.
Can you say what specific information you have about this?
It’s no surprise that she cannot comprehend the SC decision.
Maybe a group of the Proud Boys or Republicans (or in your fear mongers vocabulary: MAGA) should visit an establishment in West Hollywood and have that establishment be FORCED to serve them. I mean all you liberal hacks would back those groups in their quest for service right?
You betcha.
That’s what equality is. Sometimes you have to suck it up for the better good.
“The man named in the Supreme Court’s gay rights ruling says he didn’t request a wedding website” -AP News
In a shocking turn of events, its now being reported this man didn’t even exist and this sham of a case was all built on a hypothetical.
If they can take hypothetical cases like this to the corrupt conservative supreme court, just think about what else they can drum up to make it easier to discriminate…
Fear mongering is their playbook.
It’s quite predictable that you wouldn’t understand this ruling.
And since you do, explain this ruling based on nothing.
Oh now you’re the voice of reason?
We are not talking about the Supreme Council of Ayatollahs.
Having done your homework on this matter, I’m sure you’re aware that Stewart’s “request” was not the basis for the lawsuit, nor did the Court cite it as a basis for its ruling in Smith’s favor.
In her vulgar, crass, and fear-mongering fundraising appeal, Sepi Shyne gets it wrong. While this ruling might well open the door to additional challenges to other public accommodation laws, this is a narrow ruling limited only to those businesses offering expressive services, the provision of which the Court found violated a First Amendment right. Shyne’s analysis using her histrionic retelling of a college experience (of dubious authenticity) is dishonest and she should be ashamed of capitalizing on that deceit. This narrow ruling (while fundamentally despicable) does not make legal the type of discrimination Shyne claims to have experienced.
Belittling this obvious step into fascism and hate is totally on point for fascists. No biggie huh?. This is exactly how Nazis started in Germany.
Relax Francis
While this ruling may have a “narrow” application, it is a small crack in the doctrine of separation of church and state that Justice Clarence Thomas and others will undoubtedly try to exploit in the future. When freedom of religion translates to freedom to discriminate, then this country is off on a dangerous track.
I agree. What might happen next is a problem, and I don’t hesitate to state that likelihood, to be sure, but mine is the literal reading of the current ruling. The ruling does not, in fact, do what Shyne’s histrionic fundraising call says it will do. I deal in facts, not cracks.
Actually, it does not. The ruling clearly was based on the Free Speech.
“The court said forcing her to create the websites would violate her free speech rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment.
The decision suggests that artists, photographers, videographers and writers are among those who can refuse to offer what the court called expressive services if doing so would run contrary to their beliefs. But that’s different from other businesses not engaged in speech and therefore not covered by the First Amendment, such as restaurants and hotels.”
“called expressive services”
Yeah making wedding websites is SO expressive. *eyeroll*
She hasn’t even made any yet 🙄
The SC ruling clarifies that an employer must show significant burden before rejecting an employee’s religious accommodation. Many of us still believe in the foundational principle of religious freedom in USA. Steve maybe you could weight in, here.
Surely there is something that someone might want to hire you to legally do that would cross the line of your personal integrity or would be a violation of your conscience.