Denver, Colo., Jun 20, 2024 / 12:08 pm (CNA).
A Colorado baker, Jack Phillips, is back in court defending what he sees as his right not to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition on the grounds that doing so would interfere with his religious beliefs.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who was sued for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
On Tuesday the Colorado Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in Phillips’ appeal of a lower court’s ruling that found he had discriminated against the individual who had sued him for refusing to make a pink birthday cake with blue frosting.
This latest case began in 2017 when Autumn Scardina, a “transgender” attorney, asked Phillips to make a cake to celebrate Scardina’s “transition.” Scardina later requested the cake shop make a custom cake of Satan smoking marijuana, to “correct the errors of [Phillips’] thinking.”
After both a trial court and an appeals court ruled against him, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) appealed on behalf of Phillips.
“Jack serves everyone at Masterpiece Cakeshop, including those who identify as LGBT,” ADF Legal Counsel Jake Warner told CNA in a statement. “Whether he creates a custom cake always depends on what the cake will express, not who requests it.”
“For over a decade, government officials and activists have misused state law to threaten and punish Jack because they disagree with him,” he continued.
“Yesterday, we asked the Colorado Supreme Court to affirm free speech is for everyone and to ensure that the government cannot force Jack to create a custom cake expressing a message that violates his beliefs,” he said of the oral arguments in the Colorado Supreme Court.
The case is related to a recent Supreme Court decision to affirm a graphic designer’s religious freedom, Warner noted.
“We also argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative v. Elenis reaffirmed that Colorado can’t force artists to express a message inconsistent with their beliefs,” he added.
Phillips opened Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1993 and runs the shop with his wife, Debi. Both prioritize their faith as Christians and don’t make cakes that go against their consciences. Phillips has noted in the past that he won’t make cakes for messages he disagrees with including Halloween, divorces, or any cakes with disparaging messages.
“We hope the Colorado Supreme Court will protect free speech for all and finally bring justice for Jack,” Warner said.
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Bravo to Jack for refusing to be made part of this abnormal travesty of a celebration. Further, I suspect if the court rules against Jack he will STILL refuse to make the cake. Doubtless he will prefer to be closed down or be jailed rather than violate his religious beliefs. The fact that this “lawyer” wanted a “satanic cake” speaks volumes about him….none of it good. Wouldn’t hire him for any reason. What gives this lawyer the right to think that he can tell another person what to think on religious matters he doesnt wish to participate in?? Freedom of religion should make this an easy decision assuming the baker doesnt have a judge who is a bought and sold democrat who holds politics above the law. Once he wins I hope he sues the lawyer for harassment.
Given that he has already been vindicated in the court on his right to not violate his conscience, it is clear that people demanding he do so by doing trans cakes etc are only doing so out of spite.
This case has been ludicrous from the beginning. If the attorney wanted to destroy his body (or did he?) and became trans, that was his decision. He has no right to tell anyone else they have to support his decision in the way he orders it. If he wants satanic decoration on a cake, then I’m sure he can find someone who will do it. But what he really wants is to try and force a Christian to do it. Too bad, find someone else, or decorate your own cake.