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THE US SUPREME Court is to hear arguments today in a case that has been described as the most significant for gay rights since it approved same-sex marriage two years ago.
The landmark case pits a gay couple, Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, against a Colorado bakery owner who refused in July 2012 to make a cake for their same-sex wedding reception.
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, cited his devout Christian beliefs in turning down their request for a cake.
“What a cake celebrating this event would communicate was a message that contradicts my deepest religious convictions,” Phillips wrote this week in USA Today.
“And as an artist, that’s just not something I’m able to do,” he said.
So I politely declined.
Mullins, a 33-year-old poet and musician, and Craig, a 37-year-old interior designer, said they were emotionally devastated by the rejection and filed suit for discrimination.
“This case is not about artistic freedom,” Mullins told AFP. “We didn’t ask for a piece of art.
“We were simply turned away because of who we were,” he said.
We were publicly humiliated for who we were.
The Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the state appeals court backed up Mullins and Craig. And now it’s in the hands of the nine-member Supreme Court which features a conservative justice, Neil Gorsuch, newly appointed by President Donald Trump.
Mullins, Craig and civil rights groups have warned that if Phillips is victorious, other businesses could cite religious beliefs to refuse service to gay customers.
“When you open a business to the public, you must serve the public equally,” Mullins said.
“If a business owner is allowed to turn someone away just for their strongly held beliefs, could a hotel owner turn away an interracial couple because their faith believes that the races where not meant to mix?” he asked.
“A loss at the Supreme Court could open the door to many forms of discrimination that have long been considered wrong in our society,” he said.
‘One man and one woman’
Phillips said he would be happy to sell Mullins and Craig a cake — just not a wedding cake that would conflict with his conviction that “God designed marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
“Just as I shouldn’t be able to use the law to force others to design something that promotes my beliefs, others shouldn’t be able to force me to design a cake that celebrates theirs,” he added in USA Today.
Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal aid group representing Phillips, rejected the argument that the bakery owner’s stand is discriminatory.
“Jack offered to sell the two gentlemen suing him basically anything in his shop,” Tedesco told AFP. “Jack serves all who walk through his doors, no matter what their background or walk of life.
“But like other artists, he just can’t create all messages for all events,” he said. “Declining to express celebratory messages about same-sex marriages is simply not class-based discrimination.
“This case is about the freedom of artists and creative professionals to not be forced by the government to create custom expression or work for a message or event that violates who they are,” Tedesco said.
“To say that a Muslim, Jewish, or Christian artist can no longer adhere to the teachings of their faith and be forced by the government to create expression that violates their beliefs is scary,” he said.
“Jack and his family have faced death threats and government punishment,” he said.
In a truly free society, tolerance should be a two-way street.
Some 20 states, dozens of members of Congress and Christian lobbyist groups have thrown their weight behind the baker.
The Trump administration has also argued that his cakes are a form of artistic expression and that he cannot be forced to use his talents against his own religious beliefs.
Among those representing Mullins and Craig is the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU.
“This isn’t about a cake,” said Louise Melling, the ACLU’s deputy legal director.
“This is a question about whether the Constitution protects the right to discriminate,” Melling said.
“It’s about whether the Constitution protects the right of a bakery to put up in its store window a sign that says ‘Wedding cakes for heterosexuals only,’” she said.
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If it was a muslim cake shop that refused how would the liberals and left respond who would they side with.
@number24eu:
That would be “Islamophobic” :/
@Remy: of course how dare I lol
@number24eu: They would respond in the same way obviously. Why do you ask? Discrimination is discrimination.
@James Joseph Superior Power: lol you must be joking not one of the leftie liberal SJW have responded to the comment and if they did it would be islamophobic and racist and all that…. they want their to votes, gays don’t have kids. The liberals and left are thinking ahead more muslims more votes for them they will dump the gays.
@number24eu: LMAO You are letting your imagination run away with yourself there. The righties snow flakes get all upset when they’re told that they are being islamophobic with their paranoid notion that’s all Muslims are terrorists. The vast majority of Muslims just like the vast majority of Christians would have no problem whatsoever baking a cake for same-sex marriage. Business is business. Religion belongs and their churches mosques synagogues or whatever buildings different religions use to practice their religion.
“Gay’s don’t have kids”
@number24eu: what’s with the liberals and left pigeonholing rubbish! Marginalizing everything down to them and us. It takes away from an all rounded debate on any subject by pitching only two sides.
@number24eu:
Except an American show host actually posed as a gay man looking for a wedding cake in numerous Muslim bakeries and filmed the owners rejecting his business consistently.
There was no visible outrage from the left anywhere.
@Polly Dolan: just just cannot handle the truth
@Thought for Food:
Maybe that’s because most people can recognise a rightie snowflake with an agenda ignoring the Muslim bakeries that didn’t refuse to bake the cake.
@number24eu: what’s this got to do with my comment? I see you’re just an attention seeking troll and I fell for it.. B Bye
@James Joseph Superior Power: I think you been reading The Guardian a bit too much and drinking cool aid. I have lived worked around muslims and when you get them off guard they hate gays with a passion like the nazis hated the jews. I think a lot of gay men a blinded by hot muslim men, its time to think with the other head …
@Polly Dolan: your making me cry I hope you never have to like in a muslim country you are in for a BIG shock my little dear xxxx
@James Joseph Superior Power: do they have special glass to see them wow
@James Joseph Superior Power: Gay’s don’t have kids I sure you have heard of demographics muslims will make up 20 per cent in the uk by 2050 see where its going ..
@number24eu: like #live#
@Polly Dolan: Simple minds are easily split.. It’s horrible to look at the left and right at each other throats and not realising they are being pitted against each other so the ruling classes don’t have as much work to do controlling them. Go back even 5 years and you will only see these disgusting exchanges on the likes of Fox News but now you see it everywhere, Even people who in the past had valid arguments are just projecting on the other side. To see someone accuse another of something they are doing themselves is usually funny but it’s getting pretty serious now. The left are wrong and the right are wrong. This we all know, But each side is right about certain things, We meet in the middle and everything is better. But that’s wishful thinking.
@number24eu: exactly the same way! Don’t open a public shop if you do not intend to serve all the public or think you have the right to pick and choose! I hope this guy doesn’t eat shell fish or wear clothes of two different materials because thats just as bad in the Bible as being gay. Or would he be picking and choosing?
@number24eu: Please STFU. The tripe that falls out of you is pathetic. You’re an alt right shyte talker extraordinaire.
@number24eu:
At the risk of upsetting the righties snow flakes. Christian have being oppressing persecution and murdering gay people for the past 16100 years and in some cases continue to do so. Take Uganda for example a country where well over half the population is Christian had a bill in Parliament to execute gay people a few short years ago. It took international pressure for the Pope to condemn it. And there was no sanctions against the catholic bishops that supported The Bill.
Nobody is denying that Islam is a homophobic religion. It Is your islamophobic agenda to make homophobia and exclusively a Muslim problem.
The Nazis also hated gay people. The Jews weren’t the only ones who were sent to the concentration camps. At the end of the war Dewsbury liberators gay people were not.
@number24eu:
Since when did gay people become infertile? Gay people have do and will continue to have children. Have you never heard of adoption egg donation sperm donation and surrogacy?
Maybe somebody who happens to be Muslim has treated you very badly I don’t know. But your fear is clearly the irrational.
Look at the massive change in attitudes by Christians towards gay people only in the last 10 to 15 years. That change in attitude is already happening in many ‘Muslim countries’. 2050 still a long way away.
@Rob Cahill: I concur
Completely behind Phillips on this one, these two guys are showing a total lack of respect and are only demonstrating their intolerance. Saying they were “emotionally devastated by the rejection” is a bit over the top. It will be interesting to see the ruling on this one, if the end turns out to be similar to the Belfast bakery ruling on that appeal last year, then it will just be confirmed that intolerance has just swapped hats to a socially acceptable facade.
@Nick Drake: all these bakeries should just take the order and not make the cake. Then all that will be due to the moanerd is a refund.
@Nick Drake: so you think shops and other public services should be given based on the religious faith of the provider? Good luck getting a room with your girlfriend on holiday. What about Muslim shops that won’t serve women who don’t have their hair covered? Ok with that? I might start my own religion that forces men to wear clown outfits if they want services from my followers. Don’t even try to mock my beliefs!!! And back to the Stone Age we go.
@Mary Loony Mc Donald: These bakers should be crucified like their idol – in old good way. This should send a message across the Western World that Christianity is no longer welcomed here !!
@cortisola: yes..violence is the answer.
@Deborah Behan: Blah Blah Blah Blah…… waffle on there. You already have your own religion, it’s called hate.
You are not entitled to use their service. Surely there was other bakerys around?
@Daniel Donovan: The amount of money and time spent just to prove a point is ridiculous..
If they dont like a service, go somewhere else. Its a free market.
@Daniel Donovan: always shop around for the best price and quality.
@Daniel Donovan: would you? I’m sorry I don’t want to sell you any clothes today my religion forbids me from selling white men clothes. I can recommend other shops but your just offending my religion by merely existing. Haven’t we gotten past all that?
@Deborah Behan: well should a gay baker be forced to bake a cake saying “no to gay rights” by your logic he should.
All for equal rights but your surely violating the bakers rights forcing him to bake a cake against his morals the couple want respect but are not willing to show the same this case shudnt last long..although it is merica baker prolly get the death penalty
@Michael: There is nothing moral about refusing to bake a cake that for a celebration of Love. If anything the Bakeries refusal is immoral.
@James Joseph Superior Power: If he doesnt want to bake a cake for someone , whatever the reason, then he doesnt have too. He shouldnt be forced. You are not entitled to his service. Great thing about a free market is you can go somewhere else if you dont like the service
@Mark Foy:
The same thing was said about people of colour. Remembered no Irish no dogs, no Blacks signs in Windows. Why set a precedence that will allow every business to discriminate against a minority group that only a few decades ago most people wouldn’t serve them a loaf of bread if they were openly gay. Anti discrimination laws are there for a reason.
@James Joseph Superior Power: ‘reserve the right to admission’ sound familiar
@James Joseph Superior Power: immoral that word has very religious connotations to it, maybe you should use ethical just a suggestion darling.
@James Joseph Superior Power: Suppression of Mr Phillips beliefs, whether people agree with them or not, is also unacceptable and is in its very nature discriminatory towards him. And that’s what this will be if the ruling is in favor of the two guys, they will have no problem in having this mans belief system completely dismissed so that they can have their way.
@Nick Drake: if you don’t feel you can comply with the LAW don’t provide a service to the public. If an immigrant opened a shop for Muslims only in Ireland can you imagine?? Or only serves women with covered hair?? This is Pandora’s box. You want to respect the rights of every crazy religion out there?
@Deborah Behan: Exactly my religion forbids me to serve customers unless they stand on one leg, and sing the hedgehog song, with this “religious freedom” surely I should be able to discriminate
@Deborah Behan: looking forward to you taking a similar stand against Muslims who force segregation based on sex at events.
I’m sure your outrage will be similar.
@Nick Drake:
Can you point out to me where in Mr Phillips rule book ‘The Bible’ does it say thou shalt not bake a cake for gay people who are entering a civil marriage. There is no place in the Bible where civil marriage is even mentioned. The sacrament of Matrimony that the Bible does speak of is not civil marriage. Therefore his excuse that the bakery is being discriminated based on his religious views are null and void.
Should a doctor decide that his belief system says he shouldn’t serve gay people travellers or any other minority group would you be ok with that? Of course not. If the bakery wins this case it sets a precedent for any company or service to deny service to anybody that they don’t like. Back to the no blacks no Irish situation is that what you would prefer to see?
@GClare:
” reserve the right to refuse admission”
Not worth the paper it is written on as it has no legal standing. Sound familiar?
@James Joseph Superior Power: I think you’ve got me confused with somebody who cares about your hysteria. Yourself and Deborah should get together.
@Nick Drake:
You care Enough comment on the article crying about how the homophobe have now become the victim of homophobia. Rightie snowflake. Face Palm
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: He didnt refuse to serve them..he refused to create a particular product that they wanted.
The bakery believes that God created the ‘sacrament of matrimony’ to be between a man and a woman. But they were not asked to bake a cake for the ‘ sacrament of marriage” They were asked to bake a cake for a civil marriage. Their is a difference as the ‘ sacrament of matrimony’ for one thing has no legal standing. A marriage only becomes legally binding when the civil register is singed. God may or may not have created the sacrament of matrimony to be between a man and a woman. But he/she did NOT create civil marriage. Therefore the reason for not making the cake is invalid.
@James Joseph Superior Power: Excellent.
@James Joseph Superior Power: They shouldn’t have to provide a reason though. If they don’t want to bake the cake, the customers should bring their business elsewhere. This same situation happened up north and I don’t understand why the shop don’t just quote an outrageous price for the cake, or say that they are too busym
@Pat Bateman: they did give a reason though. And the reason is based on discrimination. There was a time when no Irish people no black people would be served on widespread bases. Would you be ok if we went back to those days? If not why is it ok to discriminate now against gay people.
@James Joseph Superior Power: By the same logic, why can nightclubs over here have a ‘over 21s’ policy? Is that not discriminating against people on basis of age? If you go to America, especially Vegas, nightclubs have different entry fees for females and males. Gender discrimination is permitted in those cases. I disagree with their view, but they still shouldn’t be forced to bake a cake which is against their morals, regardless of whether or not you agree with them.
@Pat Bateman:
The legal age of entering a nightclub here in Ireland is 18. Just because some nightclubs put up a sign saying over 21 or over 23 doesn’t mean that their sign is legally binding. The American laws that discriminate are wrong. There is no such thing as the land of the free in America.
If they don’t want to make the cake why are they running a bakery? How can they claim that baking the cake goes against their morals when there is nothing moral about discrimination? If anything their actions are immoral.
Should doctors be allowed not to treat their gay patients if it goes against their morals? Of course not. In a civilised society we have laws that ban discrimination for good reasons.
@James Joseph Superior Power: It’s not legally binding, but they refuse admission on that basis. ‘we retain the right to refuse admission’. It should be up to the business who they want to provide a service and product to. Their actions are immoral in my opinion, but there is no need for a supreme court to rule on an incident that is immoral.
Like I said, I think that they’re wrong to refuse the customers based on their sexual orientation, but I respect their right to do as they please. Customers should bring their business elsewhere and everyone is a winner.
“Emotionally devastated” because they couldn’t have cake, Cop on snowflakes. Lol
@Ciaran Fairley: you should come back here when there’s any article about women and see the emotionally disturbed men on hear!
@Deborah Behan: here!
@Ciaran Fairley: Usual shyte comment with snowflakes this and snowflakes that. Typical of a sado with no coherent argument to put forward because they know they’re just anti gay at best, homophobic at worst. Bless.
Dead right, to hear them spouting pretentious muck about art and artist. Attention seeking gimps
Religion again. The root of so many problems and issues.
@Paul Furey: I think you’ll find the root of this issue is regressive lefties and their racial intolerance… Kinda like you!
@Link: Regressive lefties? As opposed to self righteous nutcases who would love to drag us back to the 19th Century. Can you explain leftie racial intolerance? That’s an oxymoron if ever there was one…
Their views are wrong. Simple.
BUT.
They are a private business and perfectly entitled to refuse service based on their beliefs just as te couple are entitled to go to any other bakery for their cake. I don’t see how they were “publicly humiliated”.
Just to swap it around, would the case have gone this far if it had been a gay baker refusing to bake a cake for an anti gay marriage event?
Everyone in a private business should be well within their rights to refuse service on their own beliefs. Just as you are perfectly able to leave a bad review and go somewhere else. Don’t take them to court because you are “emotionally devastated” and couldn’t go to another bakery.
@Amy Wallis: grand. So you’re ok with Muslims opening shops where you can’t go in without a male and your hair covered? That would offend their beliefs. The next shop doesn’t serve single parents or gay people because it offends their religious beliefs. Want to go away for a romantic weekend. Fine. Just bring your marriage certificate for a single room. Because that would offend someone else’s religious beliefs. This is why we have laws and freedom of choice, can’t provide an equal service for all them don’t.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if the baker had simply said his schedule was full.
@Smiley: that’s still wrong. It’s still discrimination.
So, if one was to commission a poem, or have a bunker designed that the couple found personally offensive, they would put up and shut up?
@Matt Connolly: What are you on about?
Let’s put this in perspective people. I would be “emotionally devastated” if one of my parents died. Not if I couldn’t get a fake made. WTF is wrong with people?
This cake debate has gone bit stale,
@Brian O Reilly: it has oh well, I am sure we will have some more in a few months time maybe a gay sandwiches
@Brian O Reilly: Enough FFS this is becoming tiresome and quite irritating go find a baker who will bake a cake !!!
Religion and cakes. A bad mix.
If a bakeer wants to be a religious baker, then let us have formally established religious bakers which sell only to obedient, fully adhering and compliant Christians who are without sin.
Other bakers can just provide an ordinary come all commercial service.,
I refuse to bake a cake for you because the cake represents an endorsement of your marriage. I don’t think that I find that at all convincing. It’s just old fashioned discrimination in the provision of commercial, legal and straightforward service.
Some Christians really love to be martyrs to the cause.
I doubt that Jesus Christ would be overly supportive of loving charitable and kind Christians feeling the need to discriminate in the provision of a commercial and legal service.
@Fiona deFreyne: do you think gay people should be forced to bake a cake saying “no to gay rights”?
The moral of the story is people that are religious should not go into the baking and cake business. End of Story. God bess you all.
I believe both sides are wrong.The baker is in the business of baking and selling cake,and if he gets an order requesting a slogan that expresses love between two people so what, do it..It’s not like their asking for something insulting or derogatory.On the other hand,the couple after they were refused, had the option of going somewhere else and not giving their business to somebody who disagrees with their lifestyle.This situation has probably occupied both parties inordinately over the last 5 years to the detriment of their lives.I wonder are the happy couple still married .
They couldn’t find another bakery? I’m sure there’s lots of gay bakers out there.
Would a Muslim cake shop bake me a cake depicting Muhammad riding a pig, with bacon strips on top?
I wouldn’t expect him to….
have your say