The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last week against artistic and religious freedom in the case of Brush & Nib Studio v. City of Phoenix. Artists Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski sought to stop a City of Phoenix ordinance that would force them to design and create custom artwork expressing messages that violate their core beliefs.
“Artists shouldn’t be forced under threat of fines and jail time to create artwork contrary to their core convictions. The court’s decision allows the government to compel two artists who happily serve everyone to convey a message about marriage they disagree with. This contradicts basic freedoms our nation has always cherished. In Monday’s Masterpiece Cakeshop decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that ‘religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression.’ Phoenix’s position contradicts this principle and violates our clients’ artistic and religious freedom. We intend to appeal the court’s decision,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs.
The civil liberties lawsuit challenged the Phoenix ordinance because it illegally controls artistic expression—violating the freedom of Duka and Koski to choose which messages they will convey and refrain from conveying.
In 2017, a lower court ruled that Phoenix can use a criminal law to force Duka and Koski to create messages that violate their deeply held beliefs and to ban them from explaining how their religious beliefs affect the artwork they can create. The argument on Monday relates to an appeal of that ruling.
Duka and Koski specialize in creating custom artwork using hand painting, hand lettering, and calligraphy to celebrate weddings and other events. The women’s religious convictions guide them in determining which messages they can and cannot promote through their custom artwork.
The city’s ordinance forces the two artists to use their artistic talents to celebrate and promote same-sex marriage in violation of their beliefs. It also bans them from publicly communicating how their Christian belief that God designed marriage as a union between one man and one woman affects the custom artwork they can create. The law threatens up to six months in jail, $2,500 in fines, and three years of probation for each day that there is a violation.