Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-476_c185.pdf
Page Number: 36

4 

303 CREATIVE LLC v. ELENIS 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

or deny to an individual or a group, because of disabil-
ity,  race,  creed,  color,  sex,  sexual  orientation,  gender 
identity,  gender  expression,  marital  status,  national 
origin, or ancestry, the full and equal enjoyment of the
goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or ac-
commodations  of  a  place  of  public  accommodation.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. §24–34–601(2)(a). 

This  provision,  known  as  the  Act’s  “Accommodation 
Clause,”  applies  to  any  business  engaged  in  sales  “to  the 
public.”  §24–34–601(1).  The Accommodation Clause does 
not apply to any “church, synagogue, mosque, or other place 
that is principally used for religious purposes.”  Ibid. 

In  addition,  CADA  contains  what  is  referred  to  as  the 
Act’s “Communication Clause,” which makes it unlawful to 
advertise that services “will be refused, withheld from, or 
denied,” or that an individual is “unwelcome” at a place of 
public accommodation, based on the same protected traits. 
§24–34–601(2)(a).  In other words, just as a business open 
to  the  public  may  not  refuse  to  serve  customers  based  on 
race, religion, or sexual orientation, so too the business may 
not  hang  a  sign  that  says,  “No  Blacks,  No  Muslims,  No 
Gays.”

A  public  accommodations  law  has  two  core  purposes.
First,  the  law  ensures  “equal  access  to  publicly  available
goods and services.”  Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 
U. S. 609, 624 (1984) (emphasis added).  For social groups
that face discrimination, such access is vital.  All the more 
so  if  the  group  is  small  in  number  or  if  discrimination 
against the group is widespread.  Equal access is mutually 
beneficial: Protected persons receive “equally effective and
meaningful opportunity to benefit from all aspects of life in
America,”  135  Cong.  Rec.  8506  (1989)  (remarks  of  Sen. 
Harkin) (Americans with Disabilities Act), and “society,” in 
return, receives “the benefits of wide participation in polit-
ical, economic, and cultural life.”  Roberts, 468 U. S., at 625.