The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that conservative Christians have the right of free speech to refuse certain same-sex marriage business services, even in states like California, where civil rights laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Justice

s by a 6-3

vote sided with a graphic artist in Colorado who said she wants to expand her business to design custom websites that celebrate impending nuptials, but not for same-sex couples. She mentioned her belief as a Christian that marriage is limited to a man and a woman.

“The 1st Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs that express messages with which the designer disagrees,” Judge Neil M. Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion.

Lorie Smith, the graphic artist, sued Southern Colorado in federal court seeking a 1st Amendment ruling that would protect her free speech, which her lawyers noted included the right not to speak.

In its judgment in the case 303 Creative vs. Elenis, the Supreme Court said the Constitution’s protection of free speech outweighs the state’s authority to require businesses open to the public to provide equal service to all.

The court’s six conservatives, all Republican appointees, were in the majority, and the three liberals appointed by the Democrats disagreed.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissenting opinion that “the court, for the first time in its history, grants a company open to the public the constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.”

But the ruling was limited to issues of speech and expression, and it doesn’t appear to give companies or shops a broad right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

The court’s opinion does not affect its 2015 ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry and that their unions are treated equally under the law.

However, it does create an exception to that principle of equal rights. It allows some business owners to reject same-sex couples if the service or product in question involves speech or creative expressions that celebrate their marriage.

The ruling is a victory for conservative Christians and the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, which has repeatedly sued on behalf of wedding photographers, cake makers, florists and other “artists” who said it would violate their religious beliefs and their right to freedom. free speech required to participate even indirectly in a same-sex marriage.

The decision is a setback for the gay rights movement and for LGBTQ+ customers who could face more discrimination, especially when planning a wedding.