Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Gay Wedding Cake
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- The Supreme Court of the United States will take up the case of a Lakewood cake shop owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
The nation's highest court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday.
Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips says making the cake goes against his religious beliefs.
The case of Masterpiece Cakeshop versus Colorado Civil Rights Commission began five years ago when Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins asked Phillips to make a cake for their wedding reception.
Phillips refused, saying his cakes are artistic expression and that creating a cake celebrating gay marriage violates his religious beliefs.
"American citizens should not be compelled to create expression or to say things that are deeply at odds with their beliefs," said Phillips attorney Nicole Martin.
But the ACLU argues Colorado law bars any business, open to the public, from refusing service based on sexual orientation.
The case will be decided by a Supreme Court that now includes Colorado Judge Neil Gorsuch. In previous rulings, Gorsuch has erred on the side of religious liberty.
This is one of several similar cases across the country. If the court sides with Phillips, it not only means that bakers can refuse to make cakes for gay marriages, but florists and photographers, also considered artists, can refuse to provide wedding services.