State Supreme Court Lets Ruling Stand On Bakery That Turned Away Gay Couple
DENVER (CBS4)- The Colorado Supreme Court decided to let an appellate court ruling that a bakery violated the state's anti-discrimination law when it turned away a gay couple stand by refusing to hear the case.
On Monday, the state Supreme Court let the lower court ruling stand.
Attorneys for Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, filed the appeal last fall. They argued the government shouldn't force Phillips to violate his Christian beliefs.
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled against Phillips in August 2015, stating his religious beliefs don't exempt him from making cakes for gay weddings.
Phillips declined to make a cake in 2012 for Charlie Craig and David Mullins, who were married in Massachusetts but planned a celebration in Colorado.
"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," said Ria Tabacco Mar in a statement.
Mar is a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT Project, who argued the case.
"We all have a right to our personal beliefs, but we do not have a right to impose those beliefs on others and discriminate against them. We hope today's win will serve as a lesson for others that equality and fairness should be our guiding principles and that discrimination has no place at the table, or the bakery as the case may be," Mar.
Phillips' attorney said the team will evaluate all options before moving forward. In the past his legal team has stated they planned to take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take this case to ensure that government understands that its duty is to protect the people's freedom to follow their beliefs personally and professionally, not force them to violate those beliefs as the price of earning a living. Jack, who has happily served people of all backgrounds for years, 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. We are evaluating all legal options to preserve this freedom for Jack," said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement.
