Compelled Speech and Equal Protection at a Crossroads: Is There a Legal Solution to the Conflict?

Virtual Event 

This paper attempts to resolve the issue by arguing for a balance between the free expression rights and public accommodation through an intermediate level of protected speech by professionals. First, the paper reviews the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Next, the paper outlines the precedents for religious freedoms and its recent turn toward using free speech doctrine to decide such cases. Finally, the paper uses a similar approach by applying a parallel to Government Speech Doctrine as a legal test for compelled speech in commercial contexts.