The U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. The justices voted 7-2 in favor of Jack Phillips who declined to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012.
The 2 dissenting Justices were Obama appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year after a Colorado state appeals court upheld a Colorado Civil Rights Commission 2015 ruling that Phillips could not object to baking a wedding cake if it violated his religious principles.
Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins visited Phillips’ Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012 to order a wedding cake. But Phillips declined to bake the cake after they told him the cake was for their same-sex wedding.
Craig and Mullins complained to the Colorado commission that Phillips violated their civil rights.
After hearing arguments in December, Justice Anthony Kennedy said he was troubled by some of the language in the original Colorado commission ruling.
Justice Kennedy said the commission seemed “neither tolerant nor respectful of Mr. Phillips’ religious beliefs,”
He made the same observation in Monday’s ruling.
“The commission’s hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion,” he wrote.
The SCOTUS did not address the larger issue that business can refuse to participate in gay ceremonies if it violates their religious belief.
The court will address that issue at a later date.
The reaction to Monday’s Supreme Court’s ruling was mixed on Twitter.com.
“Remember everyone, if you have a “sincerely held religious belief” against someone wearing a MAGA hat, you no longer have to provide service to them,” one user tweeted. He added: “Anyone who has a problem with that should be against the Supreme Court’s ruling today. It works both ways.”
As a gay man myself, I fully agree with the "Supreme Court" 's decision on this case. The government should not force any business or person to participate in an event that violates one's religious belief. #lgbt #SCOTUS
— D. Matthew (@dmatthew1218) June 4, 2018
yes hello I'd like to order 500 gay wedding cakes to be delivered to the Supreme Court please
— Jeff Tiedrich (@jefftiedrich) June 4, 2018
imagine a gay couple not smart enough to yelp another cake shop. My sisters gay and sees right though this crap. She’s not forced to live a lie & wants no part of forcing anyone to live anything but their truth & beliefs.
— LoveY’all,Texas (@LoveYallTexas) June 4, 2018
Supreme Court just gave us all the right to refuse service to Trump supporters. Do it.
— Millennial Democrats (@Millennial_Dems) June 4, 2018
The Supreme Court is right: the state should not compel people to use their artistic gifts for speech that goes against their deepest-held convictions.
— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 4, 2018
No business should be allowed to discriminate against any American based on who they are or who they love. Our constitution requires equal protection under the law. Full stop. https://t.co/fkGGs1pYXs
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 4, 2018
Supreme Court correctly rules in favor of religious freedom
We will never allow America to become a place where people are FORCED to provide a service against their deeply held religious beliefs
Don’t force someone to do something they don’t believe in
That is fascism
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 4, 2018
Basically, the Supreme Court found that some Colorado commissioners are jerks.
— Robert VerBruggen (@RAVerBruggen) June 4, 2018
The Supreme Court has reversed the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision citing anti-religious bias. Unbelievable that many Christians whine they are persecuted in a country where their religion allows them to not sell a wedding cake to a gay couple. Shitty way to kick off #PrideMonth.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 4, 2018
Don’t listen to @FoxNews! The Supreme Court didn’t rule that Masterpiece Cakeshop is allowed to discriminate against gays. They simply ruled that the first case was “not fair”.
The day the courts rule that discrimination is OK is the day America ceases to be America! #SCOTUS
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) June 4, 2018
Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
