On Tuesday, the attorneys for Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who would not make a wedding cake for a gay couple because of his devout Christian religious beliefs, lambasted the state of Colorado for continuing to target him for his beliefs.
The remarks in federal court by lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the organization that represents Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, were triggered by another case filed against Phillips, this time from a transgender woman who wanted him to create a cake celebrating his “gender transition.”
After the hearing, Jim Campbell, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, stated, “At this point, he’s just a guy who is trying to get back to life. The problem is the state of Colorado won’t let him,” as ABC 7 reported.
Before the hearing occurred, Campbell stated:
The same agency that the Supreme Court rebuked as hostile to Jack Phillips remains committed to treating him unequally and forcing him to express messages that violate his religious beliefs. Jack serves all customers, and he is even happy to serve the attorney who lodged the complaint against him. But Jack doesn’t create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events in conflict with his deeply held beliefs. One current commissioner has publicly referred to Jack as a ‘hater’ on Twitter, one of several indications of the commission’s ongoing bias against Jack and his beliefs. We’re asking the federal court to immediately stop Colorado’s efforts to punish Jack in order to shield him from a biased agency and ensure that he is not forced to express messages that violate his faith. – READ MORE