Longmont residents may soon notice an increase in pink stickers decorating local businesses as part of a new initiative known as "Human Pay," a movement aimed at promoting inclusion and equality for the LGBTQ+ community.
The idea for the Human Pay initiative came from the Out Boulder County's Advocacy and Public Policy Committee, working closely with local Boulder-based Godot Creative. According to Bruce Parker, the deputy director of Out Boulder County, it was designed to lift community spirits in response to recent unfavorable court rulings.
"We were facing down the Supreme Court and the upcoming Supreme Court decision on 303 Creative. No one expected it to be good news. There was a need to do something to sort of lift the community’s spirits and to highlight businesses that were supportive and were interested in being visible about that,” Parker said.
Jake Warner, Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, shared his views on the 303 Creative case in an email.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative reaffirmed that free speech is for everyone," Warner wrote. "This benefits Lorie Smith just as much as the LGBT graphic designer, the Democrat speechwriter and the atheist photographer. The Supreme Court rightly held that the government cannot misuse the law to coerce or silence speech, or label speech it dislikes as discrimination in order to censor it."
Warner emphasized that the decision protects all Americans in their ability to express what they believe without fear of government punishment. He asserted that the Court’s decision is good news for all Americans because it guarantees the enforcement of nondiscrimination laws and ensures no one will be forced to say something they don't believe in.
"Lorie Smith loves to work with everyone, including clients who identify as LGBT. Her decisions to create custom art always depend on the message requested, never the person requesting," Warner noted.
Scott Skinner-Thompson, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Law School with research and teaching interests in constitutional law, civil rights, and privacy law, with a particular emphasis on LGBTQ+ and HIV issues, commented on the legal implications of businesses displaying the Human Pay sticker.
"I believe the sticker signals acceptance of all customers, especially LGBTQ+ customers, which is entirely appropriate and within their rights to do so,” Skinner-Thompson stated. "Could Boulder County try to go to court to get a court order asking them to take down a sticker if they found the business didn't comply with the initiative? It would be pretty difficult. But my guess is businesses not interested in complying won't display the sticker."
Parker drew a connection with another Out Boulder initiative, 'Rainbows Over Boulder.' During Pride Month, local businesses display rainbows to signal their support for the community.
“There's an interesting overlap there. We hope that the Human Pay element will grow beyond Boulder County, becoming a statewide and eventually nationwide initiative," Parker said. "It's going to take time to build name recognition and visual recognition of the new sign that says, 'Human Pay.' The Supreme Court decision was announced, and we launched the initiative. So, it's still in its early days."
If you would like to join this initiative, whether as a volunteer distributing stickers and gathering signatures or as a business wanting to partake, please reach out to Deb at [email protected] or call the office at 303-499-5777.
