Colorado Supreme Court Lets Lower Court Ruling Against Baker Stand
The Colorado Supreme Court is the latest to deny Christian wedding cake baker Jack Phillips the ruling he has been hoping for. The Masterpiece Cake Shop owner refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2012, citing his Christian religious beliefs. The court today let stand the Colorado Court of Appeals unanimous 2015 ruling that found Phillips violated the state’s nondiscrimination laws by refusing to bake a wedding cake for David Mullins and Charlie Craig.
“The highest court in Colorado today affirmed that no one should be turned away from a public-facing business because of who they are or who they love,†Ria Tabacco Mar, the plaintiff’s ACLU attorney said in a statement, CBS Denver reports.
The couple won in their complaint against Phillips in a 2013 ruling by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Phillips appealed, and in 2014 lost before the commission again. In 2015 the Colorado Court of Appeals also ruled against Phillips, finding there is no difference between discriminating against someone because they are gay and discriminating against someone because they are marrying someone of the same gender. Today, Phillips effectively lost again.
His Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have said earlier they will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are evaluating all legal options,†ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement. Phillips, Tedesco says, “has happily served people of all backgrounds for years.” He “simply exercised the long-cherished American freedom to decline to use his artistic talents to promote a message and event with which he disagrees, and that freedom shouldn’t be placed in jeopardy for anyone.”
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Image: Screenshot via CBS News/YouTube