Cakeshop

An appeals court has ruled that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips cannot refuse to handcraft a cake “celebrating” an individual’s gender “transition from male to female,” even though the action violates his Christian beliefs.

In 2017, a Denver lawyer named Autumn Scardina phoned in an order to Masterpiece Cakeshop requesting a custom-made cake to celebrate Scardina’s own “transition” to a woman — a pink cake with blue frosting, for those of you keeping score at home.

The case has gained attention for its similarities to a 2018 case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which the court ruled that a Colorado baker had the right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

This case was just an extension of Masterpiece Cakeshop, though with the added intent of enshrining the ability to discriminate services online.

At this writing, there are 98 comments on Yelp Talk about Masterpiece Cakeshop, and the majority — 56 — are from people in Colorado.

Baker Jack Phillips decorates a cake in his Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2017 in Lakewood, Colo. In a 7-2 decision June 4, the Supreme Court sided with the baker, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Her stand is identical to that of Jack Phillips, whose case, Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Looking at the Muslim ban and Masterpiece Cakeshop cases together reveals at least one more thing.

Lundberg says that the Masterpiece Cakeshop case prompted further probing into the commission, which now leads the Republicans to believe that serious reforms are needed.

Masterpiece Cakeshop case is different from saying a hotel or restaurant cannot refuse service to people based on their sexual orientation.

Masterpiece Cakeshop was another example.

The Masterpiece Cakeshop decision was in favor of Phillips, but was based on the facts of his case and didn’t find a First Amendment right to refuse to make custom-made wedding cakes for same-sex couples as he was seeking.

Yesterday, I, alongside the rest of the LGBTQ community woke up to the news that the Supreme Court had reached a decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case.