OnPolitics: SCOTUS to decide on businesses denying services to same-sex couples

Hello, OnPolitics readers!

The Supreme Court has sided against Texas in banning Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies from moderating content.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last fall that blocked the companies from restricting or removing content. The move was in response to complaints from conservatives and former President Donald Trump that the social media sites censor their voices and viewpoints.

The court's 5-4 decision temporarily blocks enforcement of the law while the underlying case continues through lower federal courts.

In their dissent, conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas wrote that it is "not at all obvious how our existing precedents, which predate the age of the internet, should apply to large social media companies."

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan also joined the three conservatives in saying she would have allowed the law to be enforced but did not elaborate further.

Two trade groups that represent the social media companies told the Supreme Court in an emergency appeal in May that Texas' law would compel the sites to publicize "all sorts of objectionable viewpoints," such as Russian propaganda about the Ukraine invasion and unhealthy behaviors for children, like eating disorders.

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

Justices to decide on business refusing services for LGBTQ weddings

The Supreme Court announced it will revisit whether business owners may refuse services to same-sex wedding couples under the First Amendment's protection of free speech.

The court will consider the matter later this year; seven years after it legalized same-sex marriage.

Business owners involved in recent litigation on the issue say they should not be forced by the government to endorse same-sex marriage through their services if it runs counter to their beliefs. LGBTQ rights advocates argue its a matter of discrimination.

The court's lack of clarity has prompted more lawsuits throughout the country. A florist in Washington state defended her decision to refuse to make an arrangement for a same-sex wedding. A website developer in Colorado, a state which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, brought a suit for the same reason.

Critics say the arguments would open the door to more and more businesses undermining anti-discrimination laws by picking and choosing whom they serve.

David Cole, national legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented a couple in a Colorado wedding cake case, asserted that non-discrimination laws "don’t single out religion." Instead, Cole said, "they regulate business conduct serving customers, and they simply require that you serve all customers equally."

Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter here.

Real quick: stories you'll want to read

• Rand Paul challenger features noose in ad: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker stands with a noose around his neck in a new campaign ad criticizing his opponent, Kentucky Republican incumbent Rand Paul, for holding up legislation in 2020 that would have made lynching a federal hate crime in America.

• Abbott absent from Biden baby formula meeting: President Joe Biden met virtually with top executives of five baby formula manufacturers – but not the company at the center of the nationwide baby shortage, Abbott Nutrition.

• Yellen on inflation: 'I was wrong' The Biden administration acknowledged Tuesday that it was wrong to downplay the threat of rising inflation last year as the White House works to combat rising consumer prices.

• Uvalde school lockdown response under review: While law enforcement's delayed response to the deadly Uvalde school shooting has drawn the most scrutiny, Texas authorities also are reviewing how quickly school officials moved to impose a lockdown of the Robb Elementary School campus.

Beyond the NRA: Here are other gun rights groups that spend millions to influence laws

The National Rifle Association is accustomed to drawing national attention amid calls for gun safety legislation after mass shootings, such as the one that left 19 students and two teachers dead last week in Uvalde, Texas.

Gun rights advocacy organizations spent a record $15.8 million on lobbying last year, according to an analysis by Open Secrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks lobbying and campaign contributions. Since 1998, the industry has spent nearly $200 million on federal lobbying.

The top spender last year was not the NRA, which held its annual convention over the weekend. That spot went to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which paid lobbyists $5 million in 2021.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Among its thousands of members are gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as shooting ranges and sportsmen’s organizations.

Other groups: Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit lobbying organization founded in 1976 by California state Sen. Hubert Leon “Bill” Richardson. The organization spent $2,771,929 in total lobbying expenditures in 2021, according to Open Secrets.

GOA’s posted mission is to defend the Second Amendment. It formed a national network of attorneys working with lawmakers and local citizens to keep gun ranges and gun clubs open.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms positions itself as “the common sense gun lobby.” Based in Bellevue, Washington, the organization is chaired by Alan Gottlieb, an author, conservative political activist and founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.

CCRKBA spent $994,119 in total lobbying expenditures in 2021, according to Open Secrets. Senate lobbying disclosure records show expenses for lobbying activities during the first quarter of 2022 reached more than $125,000.

June 1 marks the beginning of LGBTQ Pride month. Here's how to support LGBTQ families as bills targeting LGBTQ communities appear in state legislatures. -- Amy and Chelsey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SCOTUS to decide on business owners refusing to serve same-sex couples