Posted on 07/29/2014 8:14:09 AM PDT by xzins
LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Imagine being ordered to go against your religious beliefs, and if you refuse, you could be arrested, fined, or sued.
That happened to the Christian owner of a Colorado bakery who now must make wedding cakes for gay couples.
However, the owner is standing his ground and his action is inspiring people around the world.
Discriminating Accusation
The sign on the door reads "Celebrating 20 Years of Great Cakes!" For two decades, Masterpiece Cakeshop has created art in the form of baked goods that keeps customers coming back.
From cookies and cupcakes to signature cakes, Jack Phillips and his daughter Lisa have transformed their bakery into a studio. Phillips said it's all inspired and motivated by his faith in Jesus Christ.
"It's the most important thing that I think about throughout the day. When I wake up, when I go to work, I want to know that what I'm doing is pleasing to Him, that I honor Him and His Word because that's the most important thing," Phillips said.
But Phillips' Christian faith landed him in trouble with the law. His crime: adhering to his biblical belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.
In 2012, a homosexual couple sued the baker after he declined to make a cake to celebrate their marriage. An administrative law judge ruled against him, and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission agreed.
The commission stated Phillips' refusal went against the state's public accommodation law. It requires businesses to serve customers regardless of their sexual orientation.
In a public statement, one member of the Civil Rights Commission said, "I can believe anything I want, but if I'm going to do business here, I'd ought to not discriminate against people."
"I didn't discriminate against anybody," Phillips countered. "Like Nicolle (his attorney) said, I've chosen not to make cakes for same-sex weddings. I told David and Charlie when they came in that I would sell them cookies and brownies and birthday cakes and shower cakes. I just don't do the same-sex wedding cake. So I did not discriminate against them, just that event I've chosen not to participate in."
His attorney Nicolle Martin said the Commission violated his First Amendment rights. She's taken the case to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Conform to Comply
The Civil Rights Commission's order requires Phillips and his staff to make cakes for same-sex celebrations if asked.
He must also re-educate his staff about Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act. Under that law, artists must endorse all views.
The order also requires him to put in place new policies to comply with the Commission's order.
In addition, he will submit quarterly "compliance" reports to the government for two years.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the reports must include the number of customers declined a wedding cake or any other product. They must also include why it was declined "so to ensure he has fully eliminated his religious beliefs from his business."
"The government has chosen which message it favors in this case; I think the state has made it very clear," Martin said.
"Jack's First Amendment rights, Jack's freedom to express himself or more importantly, not express himself, must bow to the complainants' message," she said. "And all I can say is what that looks like to me is something very frightening, and that's nothing more than diversity through conformity, and that's not diversity at all," she added.
First Amendment Disappearing?
Phillips' case is one of a handful in which complainants sued private businesses for refusing to accommodate gay couples getting married.
It also helped lead to controversial proposals in several states allowing businesses to decline service based on the religious beliefs of owners.
"This case is not about and it has never been about the young men that came in here almost two years ago asking Jack to design and create their cake," Martin said. "This case has always been about the message that that cake expresses, what that cake communicates."
"It's surprising," Phillips said. "This is not what they taught us in civics class... they could do this to you. They do this in other countries, not here."
"So Jack stands on the First Amendment. In this case, we're going to learn whether the First Amendment has a future in America," Martin said.
In a country founded on freedom of religion and speech, that's a future important to all Americans
Jack is my baker. If you knew Jack, as I have for nearly 20 years, you would know he would never purposely make a bad cake. He is proud of his “art” and does an incredible job. He has made me everything from foot long Macaws, to motorcyles, “drunken” tulips (21st birthday) and peacocks. He is a good kind man and does not deserve the treatment he is getting. I have a feeling that Jack will be teaching them a thing about tolerance.
Shut the business down and restart as something else.
# the state and its statist scumbags.
There's the rub; the supreme communist has already declared: "You didn't build that"
The idea that you did something without them, that you are somehow independent, is abhorrent.
I think you’re missing the point. They would bake for the gay couple. They had no problem cooking for the gays. They objected a “gay wedding cake”. They said their shop doesn’t make that kind of cake.
There’s a very simple and elegant solution to this:
He agrees to bake the cake. But upfront tells the couple that all profits will be donated to a Christian organization that provides Gay Conversion Therapy. He can even offer to provide the donation in their name, if they’d like him to.
The problem will quickly solve itself.
Also, we need to deliberately hire homosexual signmakers to make signs for our protest rallies . . . and sue them if they discriminate. Just to get the opposite test case on the table.
Shalom.
As easy as it is to do an LLC online, they could change their business every year without changing their location. That would be a fun dodge.
But the real issue here is that they’re being told to report on how they’re complying with an order to keep their beliefs out of their business.
If I will make all kinds of other cakes but do not make gay wedding cakes, then who should tell me I have to or be arrested?
Why not tell the auto dealer that he must sell bicycles? Some people, you know, just don’t believe in internal combustion. You sell transportation, then you must sell to them, too.
“He must also re-educate his staff about Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act. Under that law, artists must endorse all views. “
Then they aren’t artists anymore. Art has apparently been outlawed in Colorado.
“While I don’t agree with the decision, I don’t understand why the shop owners don’t make a hidious cake for these customers.”
They don’t want to leave this battle for someone else to fight in the courts, I think. Someone has to do it, and God bless these folks for having the courage to stand their ground.
Is there a difference between ‘refuse to do’ AND ‘don’t do that kind’?
I do regular brownies, but I ‘don’t do peanut butter brownies’.
I do garlic bread, but I don’t do ‘pumpkin seed bread.’
I do wedding cakes, but I don’t do a ‘gay wedding cake.’
This is no different than having a requirement to bow to the Golden Calf whenever the “Diversity” music is played. Good for him for disobeying. No King, but King Jesus!
That’s funny, his staff for the last o’ 20 years or so has included his daughter. I think she knows exactly how valuable this “re-education” is.
masterpiececakeshop@msn.com
Well that was a malarkey accusation. He is happy to serve customers regardless of their 'sexual orientation' - because he should not even know the customer's sexual orientation. He just refuses to make cakes that have messages on them that he - the baker and owner - finds offensive.
Would the Colorado Commission take Mr. Phillips to task if he refused to make a cake that had white hooded Klansmen (modeled after Grand Keagle Robert Byrd) lynching a black man? He'd be infringing on the Klan's right to free speech -- for consistency sake the Commission should insist that the baker should provide that product also. They'd be wrong -- as they are for insisting that a Christian baker bakes a cake celebrating a sodomite liaison.
The federal government ended those freedoms in the 60s as it dismantled segregation with laws many so called righties like Hannity and looney Beck trumpet
Then someone needs to gin up a sting for these bastards. Find a gay owned flower shop, for instance and order Nazi and KKK themed floral displays. Let’s see whether or not they enforce the law in this case.
Gettin’ a couple of OT accounts mixed together there, but we get the point.
The company I work for started the b.s. called “diversity” training only a few months before I retired in 1999, large company and attendance was mandatory.
I missed the class three different times, boss knew I was about to retire and left me alone about it. Wink and a nod type situation.
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