Christian baker loses appeal in same-sex wedding cake case
by Kiley Crossland, World Magazine:
The Colorado Supreme Court will not hear the case of a Christian baker who declined to make a cake for a same-sex wedding celebration.
The decision, released yesterday, upholds a prior ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals against the baker, Jack Philips of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo. Philips had appealed the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s order to create cakes for same-sex weddings, re-educate his staff on discrimination policy, and file quarterly “compliance” reports for two years after he declined to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012.
Philips’ attorneys said Monday they are evaluating all legal options—including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take this case to ensure that government understands that its duty is to protect the people’s freedom to follow their beliefs personally and professionally, not force them to violate those beliefs as the price of earning a living,” Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the legal group representing Philips, said in a statement released Monday.
In 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins requested Philips bake them a custom wedding cake to celebrate their Massachusetts marriage. Philips declined, citing his religious convictions, but recommended another bakery nearby. Craig and Mullins filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which eventually ruled against Philips in 2014. Philips appealed the decision, and the Colorado Court of Appeals also ruled against him in August 2015. In October he appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.
ADF and Philips contend he did not discriminate based on sexual orientation but instead exercised his religious freedom by declining to use his artistic gifts to support an event that contradicts his faith.
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