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Baker Appeals Order To Provide Gay Wedding Cakes

DENVER (AP) — A suburban Denver baker has appealed an order from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that requires him to prepare wedding cakes for gay couples.

Jack Phillips on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the May ruling by the commission.

Phillips was sued by a gay couple after he refused to make a cake to celebrate their marriage in 2012. Phillips has said he is deeply religious and that making the cake would violate the Christian principles by which he runs his Lakewood business, Masterpiece Cakeshop.

An administrative law judge ruled against Phillips and the commission upheld that decision, finding that Phillips' refusal violated the state's public accommodation law that requires businesses to serve customers regardless of their sexual orientation.

Phillips' attorneys argue that decision violates Phillips' First Amendment rights.

The case is one of a handful in which private businesses were sued for refusing to serve gay couples getting married, and it helped spark controversial proposals in several states to let businesses refuse service based on owners' religious beliefs.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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