The case, Masterpiece Cake Shop Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, was a dispute between Jack Phillips, a baker in Colorado, and Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins, a gay couple who asked Phillips to bake a cake for their wedding reception.
Phillips told the couple he didn’t make cakes for same-sex weddings.
Craig and Mullins then filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission after learning the state’s public accommodations law barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The commission ruled in favor of the gay couple, and a state appeals court agreed.
The justices were tasked with determining whether Colorado’s public accommodations law violated Phillips’ free speech rights, as the baker’s lawyers argued it forced Phillips to engage in speech that violated his religious beliefs.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage, florists, bakers, photographers and other business owners nationwide have been embroiled in legal challenges after turning down wedding services to same-sex couples due to their religious beliefs.
Courts often rule against the business owners, though, due to state laws that require businesses to serve customers regardless of sexual orientation.
AJ adds: The Supreme Court was exactly right:
1. Gays have a right to service unless they ask for something that is contradictory to the owners religious beliefs. Participating in a gay wedding is a religious statement, whereas selling a cake to gays is not.
2. The SCOTUS thus nips in the bud the follow up efforts of the Left, which was to force Christian ministers and priests to perform wedding ceremonies for gays.
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