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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
I thought that too.
Just make ugly cakes for gay marraiges. But someone does to make a stand good on him for doing it.
Whooee!
I like that!
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
“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.”
It wouldn’t accomplish anything, because the KKK and Nazis are not “protected classes” under the statutes. You can refuse service to them all day long and nothing will happen.
You must be young
I admire your defiance but that logic invites more problems
I just had a great idea. If I had been ordered by the gov. to make a homo cake. I would have done it and then placed two weiners (hot dogs) sticking up in the middle of it. Then I would have had photographers waiting to record the happy couple when they saw it. The photos would have gone straight to the interwebs.
am I mean?
No different really from a scam couple who engineers a fake fall in a grocery store so they can extort them. The key difference here is that the law is a party to the extortionist scam.
By liberal “logic” Nazis in full regalia could march into a Jewish-owned bakery/print shop/sign shop/etc. and order the owners to make or bake them items for a Nazi rally. The owners would have to obey. So what if it violates their consciences. Liberals have decreed that nobody has the right to obey their conscience. Nazis have legal rights. They cannot be turned down....or so say the liberals.
This is absurd.
what next forced to make a cake
“for the woman I cheat with”
a cake for human animal sex?
This is no different than refusing to bake a cake with an iron file for prison escapes. Baking it may not be a crime, but delivery is the crime.
Also, you do not need ANY religion for find this BEHAVIOR disgusting or objectionable.
Wow, that was an easy bow and scrape, walk away answer.
“It won’t work anyway” so let’s bow and scrape to the new American Fascists.
Could a Nazi sue a Jewish sculptor for refusing to make a sculpture of a Heir Hitler standing on the throat of a sterotypical hasidic jew?
I am with you. I have refused business (in some cases without explaining why), and I have charged double or triple for people I didn't like (liberals), but I have never delivered anything but the best possible product I could produce within the specified time and budget constraints.
[ 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. ]
This is the thing that the leftists don’t see, they are undermining a person’s artistic integrity in the name of “feel good fascism”...
Hell that is an awesome term to describe most Liberal Control freak Policies.... “Feel Good Fascism”....
It would be one thing if the Baker made uniform loaves of bread and then refused to sell one of the many loaves to someonhe because they were gay, but custom cakes IS AN ART and as such the owner is an ARTISAN!
The Democrats hate Artisans...
I absolutely agree with that.
Plus, the liberals lie that businesses and organizations do not have principles that they operate by.
Didn’t Mozilla fire its CEO over a donation to a pro-marriage group?
Do I honestly think that the Shady Lane Vegetarian restaurant will sell me a pure beef hamburger?
These people are dishonest as well as being wrong.
LOL. And the boss probably knew it was b.s., too.
If you know him personally, please communicate my support for his courage and Faith. The early martyrs suffered this kind of persecution and their steadfastness inspired a thousand generations. Mr. Phillips is a latter-day martyr to political correctness and perverse thuggery.
He is to be admired.
“Wow, that was an easy bow and scrape, walk away answer.”
No, it’s a factual answer. The statutes are designed a certain way so that they can’t be used the way you proposed. If you don’t like those facts, take it up with the people who wrote the statutes, not the messenger who informs you of those facts.
Sell a cake to the KKK that says “Obama is a ni r”. And see if he has to do that.
This country is bowing down to 2 to 3% of the people while telling the majority to walk away from their religious beliefs.
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