Most Americans are probably familiar with the First Amendment, especially the portion prohibiting government officials from “abridging the freedom of speech.”
But what some people may not consider is that “speech” isn’t confined merely to spoken words. The First Amendment’s protection of speech encompasses many types of messages, including designs printed on a T-shirt.
In 2012, a hardworking Kentuckian named Blaine Adamson became the subject of a discrimination complaint because he declined to print T-shirts promoting a message that violated his beliefs. But the First Amendment protects Blaine’s right to choose which messages he wants to express.
For Blaine, following his beliefs was a no-brainer. While he expected some backlash, he didn’t know that his decision would spark a years-long legal battle that would go all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Who is Blaine Adamson?
Blaine is a T-shirt designer who runs Hands On Originals in Lexington, Kentucky. He is also a devout Christian who seeks to live according to biblical teachings.
Blaine first discovered his love for designing T-shirts during his time at the University of Kentucky. He found that he had a talent for creating shirts to help raise money for his fraternity.
Other fraternities soon enlisted Blaine to design shirts for them, too. By his senior year, he was working for a local printer and making commissions from his designs.
At the same time, Blaine was struggling with his faith during his college career. One day, standing on the deck of a cruise ship with some of his college classmates, Blaine felt God asking him, “Are you where you want to be?”
Blaine knew he wasn’t. “God, I feel like I’ve been away from you long enough,” Blaine remembers praying. Even at the time, he knew that re-dedicating his life to Christ was no small decision.
“I knew there was going to be … a cost,” Blaine said. “If you choose to follow the Lord, there will be a cost.”
Taking on a new challenge
Blaine soon took a job with Hands On Originals, where he began to hone his skills by creating Christian T-shirt designs. He helped develop a new division of the company called “Christian Outfitters” that marketed shirts to people of faith.
“At the time, Christian-themed shirts were terrible,” Blaine said. “They were cheesy.” He wanted to “create Christian shirts that would actually be worn by high school and college kids.”
Blaine experienced success creating T-shirts and other products for Christian camps, mission trips, and more. The owners of Hands On Originals soon realized that he was the best chance to save the company, which was half a million dollars in debt.
Blaine agreed to become managing owner in 2008, but his first year brought more struggles for the company. When nothing else seemed to work, he cried out to God for help.
“I said, ‘God, I’ve tried everything. … I just need help,” Blaine said. “I need your help, or this [business] is done.”
Almost immediately, shirts started flying off the shelves. Blaine described feeling “like God reached down and turned the faucet on.” By 2011, Blaine was able to write the check that paid off Hands On Originals’ debt—and he gives God all the credit for that victory.
But the very next year, a single phone call turned everything upside down again.
Blaine cannot express every message
In 2012, Blaine got a call from the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) asking him to print shirts for a local pride festival.
“I knew as soon as he told me what he wanted, that wasn’t something I was going to be able to print,” Blaine said. He explained to the group that while he couldn’t express a message that violated his beliefs, he could connect them to another print shop that would create the shirts for the same price he would have charged.
The man ended the call, clearly not satisfied with the offer. Blaine knew almost immediately that the story wasn’t over.
“I remember [Blaine] warning me that this was going to be big, and just that foreboding feeling, waiting to see,” said Blaine’s wife, Amy.
The GLSO soon filed a discrimination complaint with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission. An avalanche of negative headlines, derogatory social media comments, and hateful emails and phone calls followed for Blaine and Hands On Originals.
Blaine got in contact with Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, who told him they would defend his First Amendment liberties free of charge. He saw it as another sign of God’s providence.
“It was just like, ‘OK, God—you’ve got this,’” Blaine said. “It’s going to be all right. It’s going to work out.”
A win for free speech and religious liberty
After the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission ruled against Blaine and ordered him to undergo “diversity training,” ADF attorneys appealed the ruling to the Fayette County Circuit Court.
In 2015, the circuit court ruled that “[t]here is no evidence in this record that [Hands on Originals] or its owners refused to print the t-shirts in question based upon the sexual orientation of GLSO or its members or representatives that contacted HOO. Rather, it is clear beyond dispute that HOO and its owners declined to print the t-shirts in question because of the MESSAGE advocating sexual activity outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.”
This ruling was correct. Blaine is happy to serve any customer, including those who identify as LGBT. But there are some messages that he simply cannot express, no matter who asks for them.
A Kentucky appeals court affirmed this ruling, but the Commission continued to appeal. Ultimately, the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
ADF attorneys argued before the Kentucky Supreme Court in August 2019. Two months later, the court ruled in Blaine’s favor once again and dismissed the case because the GLSO did not have a legal right to sue Hands On Originals. This put an end to Blaine’s years-long legal battle.
Years later, in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court would issue a ruling in another ADF case, 303 Creative v. Elenis, that would further solidify free speech protections for Americans like Blaine.
Thanks to you, ADF can continue defending people like Blaine
No one should be forced to express messages that violate their religious beliefs. The First Amendment protects not only the right to speak freely, but also the right to decline to speak.
If we want freedom for ourselves, we must defend it for others. We will not always agree, but civility and respect for one another are necessary for a peaceful and free society.
Thankfully, the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling ended the GLSO’s attempt to punish Blaine for exercising his free speech. But Blaine is far from the only person facing punishment for declining to violate his beliefs.
Alliance Defending Freedom continues to defend people who face threats to their First Amendment rights in the public square, the classroom, and beyond. And we need your help to do so.
Will you give today to help fuel more cases protecting free speech and religious freedom?
