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Colorado Officials Say Gay-Cake Ban Did Not Violate Rights

DENVER (AP) - A Castle Rock religious leader said he plans to appeal after the Colorado Civil Rights Division rejected his arguments that a bakery discriminated against his religion when it refused to make a cake with a gay slur.

The Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled Friday that Azucar Bakery did not discriminate against William Jack because the baker offered to bake the cake and let the customer write his own message, which the baker considered derogatory.

Colorado ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein said Sunday that that the baker did not discriminate because she agreed to bake the cake. Silverstein said her decision not to decorate the cake was not based on the customer's religion, but because she considered the message offensive.

Marjorie Silva, owner of Denver's Azucar Bakery, told The Associated Press after the case was filed that she agreed to make a Bible-shaped cake, but balked when the man showed her a piece of paper with what she considered hateful words about gays that he wanted written on the cake. He also wanted the cake to have two men holding hands and an X on top of them, Silva said.

She said she would make the cake, but she declined to write his suggested messages, telling him she would give him icing and a pastry bag so he could write the words himself. Silva said the customer didn't want that.

azucar bakery
Azucar Bakery (credit: CBS)

The state ruled that the bakery would have treated any other customer the same way.

The bakery owner did not return a phone call from the AP seeking comment on Sunday, and a phone number for Jack could not be located.

- By Steven K. Paulson, AP Writer

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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