Court backs baker in gay wedding-cake case
LAKEWOOD, Colorado — Jack Phillips seems like an unlikely U.S. Supreme Court plaintiff.
The laconic 62-year-old has quietly run his Masterpiece Cakeshop from a strip mall in suburban Denver for a quarter of a century.
That changed, however, when a gay couple asked him to make their wedding cake in 2012 and Phillips said no, citing his religious beliefs.
Now, after winning a partial victory Monday from the high court, Phillips has become a beacon for conservatives who feared a shift toward gay rights could make them an oppressed minority.
“I’m profoundly thankful that the court saw the injustice that the government inflicted on me,” Phillips said in a statement issued through his lawyers. “This is a great day for our family, our shop, and for people of all faiths who should not fear government hostility or unjust punishment. Today’s decision makes clear that tolerance is a two-way street.”
The justices cited anti-religious bias on the part of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, saying it was unfairly dismissive of Phillips’ religious beliefs.
But the court stayed out of the thornier issue of whether people can avoid providing services to same-sex weddings because of religious beliefs.
The case stems from a brief meeting in 2012 between Phillips and Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins. The couple had just married in Massachusetts and wanted a cake for a celebration in the suburb of Lakewood.
Phillips told the men he’d be happy to sell them other products, but he didn’t make wedding cakes for gay marriages.
The newlyweds filed a complaint with the state civil rights commission, which forbade Phillips from refusing service again.
Phillips fought back, appealing that ruling all the way to the Supreme Court.