We’ve heard the arguments before. Should a Jewish baker be forced to make a cake for a Neo-Nazi picnic (assuming those are a thing)? Should a Muslim baker be forced to make a cake for a party celebrating Israel’s Independence Day? Are those things required of businesses, or does a refusal to carry or create a product that conflicts with one’s beliefs constitute discrimination?
Get ready to hear them again because Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver, is headed back to court, and this time it is the Colorado Supreme Court. No date has been set, but the Alliance Defending Freedom, who is representing Phillips, reported that the case is on the court’s list.
By way of a quick recap, the ADF notes that the saga dates back to 2017. Autumn Scardina, a transgender attorney, called Phillips and asked for a cake that was blue on the outside and pink inside to be used at a gender transition birthday party. Phillips refused, and Scardina filed a lawsuit in March 2021. The ADF points out that Scardina tried to order the cake on the same day in 2017 that the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Phillips’ earlier case regarding his refusal to make a cake for a gay wedding.
Scardina called a second time, requesting another cake that showed Satan smoking marijuana. According to the ADG, Scardina placed that order to “correct the errors of [Phillips’] thinking.” Phillips again refused. He would ultimately win that case after a loss in 2018 on appeal.
Also of note, not long ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lorie Smith in 303 Creative v. Elenis. In that case, the court ruled that Colorado could not “punish Lorie for creating art consistent with her beliefs.”
Regarding Phillips’ new case, ADF Senior Counsel Jake Warner stated:
Free speech is for everyone. As the U.S. Supreme Court held in 303 Creative, the government can’t force artists to express messages they don’t believe. Because the attorney asked Jack to create a custom cake that would celebrate and symbolize a transition from male to female, the requested cake is speech under the First Amendment. The Colorado Supreme Court should apply 303 Creative to reverse the appeals court’s decision punishing Jack. You don’t need to agree with Jack’s views to agree that Americans shouldn’t be compelled to express what they don’t believe. Jack works with all people and always decides whether to create a custom cake based on what message it will express, not who requests it.
The point has been made ad infinitum that there are any number of bakers in Denver who would have been thrilled to bake the requested cakes, and many have theorized that Phillips was chosen specifically because of his beliefs. That would demonstrate that the Left’s claim that free speech is dangerous only when that speech is something with which it disagrees.
On Wednesday, I wrote about the citizens of Portland being told not to call 911 because the system had been overloaded with calls regarding drug overdoses. I also mentioned the young men in Philadelphia who were murdered, one of whom was the victim of a random crime. And it is sad that so many have been victimized and have died as a result of the pursuit of progressive agendas. The deaths and the damage have been tragic. And now, we see the Left trying to prosecute free speech, unaware that it is not immune to the eventual consequences.
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