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Colorado Supreme Court denies appeal from anti-gay baker who refused to make wedding cake
Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig had requested a rainbow-layered cake from Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012
A Colorado baker has suffered a major setback in his fight not to bake wedding cakes for LGBTI couples.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday (25 April) is letting stand a ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals which found that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips violated the state’s nondiscrimination laws by refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
‘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,’ stated Ria Tabacco Mar, the plaintiff’s attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 2012, David Mullins and Charlie Craig had requested a rainbow-layered cake from the bakery in Lakewood, Colorado.
The couple planned to marry in Massachusetts and have a reception for family, and friends, in Colorado. Phillips told them his faith kept him from accepting the order.
The couple filed a complaint with the state’s Civil Rights Division. Colorado law bans bias based on sexual orientation.
Approximately two years ago the state’s Office of Administrative Courts ruled the store violated discrimination laws.
It noted that in the past, the bakery made ‘marriage’ cakes for two dogs but created a policy to deny service to gay couples.
Last August, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.
Phillips’ attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom then appealed that ruling to the state’s high court. Now say they will appeal to the US Supreme Court.
‘We are evaluating all legal options,’ ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement.
Tedesco says his client ‘has happily served people of all backgrounds for years.’
He said Phillips ‘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.’
Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig had requested a rainbow-layered cake from Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012
A Colorado baker has suffered a major setback in his fight not to bake wedding cakes for LGBTI couples.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday (25 April) is letting stand a ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals which found that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips violated the state’s nondiscrimination laws by refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
‘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,’ stated Ria Tabacco Mar, the plaintiff’s attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 2012, David Mullins and Charlie Craig had requested a rainbow-layered cake from the bakery in Lakewood, Colorado.
The couple planned to marry in Massachusetts and have a reception for family, and friends, in Colorado. Phillips told them his faith kept him from accepting the order.
The couple filed a complaint with the state’s Civil Rights Division. Colorado law bans bias based on sexual orientation.
Approximately two years ago the state’s Office of Administrative Courts ruled the store violated discrimination laws.
It noted that in the past, the bakery made ‘marriage’ cakes for two dogs but created a policy to deny service to gay couples.
Last August, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.
Phillips’ attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom then appealed that ruling to the state’s high court. Now say they will appeal to the US Supreme Court.
‘We are evaluating all legal options,’ ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement.
Tedesco says his client ‘has happily served people of all backgrounds for years.’
He said Phillips ‘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.’