On Tuesday, according to The Daily Caller, Christian baker Jack Phillips — who was recently handed a victory at the Supreme Court after the Colorado Civil Rights Commission discriminated against him on the basis of religion by fining him for not baking a same-sex wedding cake — filed a new lawsuit against the Civil Rights Commission. Why? Because the Civil Rights Commission has apparently issued a preliminary ruling penalizing him for not baking a gender transition celebration cake.
The Daily Caller reports: On the same day the high court agreed to review the Masterpiece case, an attorney named Autumn Scardina called Phillips’ shop and asked him to create a cake celebrating a sex transition. The caller asked that the cake include a blue exterior and a pink interior, a reflection of Scardina’s transgender identity. Phillips declined to create the cake, given his religious conviction that sex is immutable, while offering to sell the caller other pre-made baked goods. In the months that followed, the bakery received requests for cakes featuring marijuana use, sexually explicit messages, and Satanic symbols. One solicitation submitted by email asked the cake shop to create a three-tiered white cake depicting Satan licking a functional 9 inch dildo. Phillips believes Scardina made all these requests. … Three weeks after Phillips won at the high court, the commission issued a probable cause determination, finding there was sufficient evidence to support Scardina’s claim of discrimination.
Phillips has now sued, claiming violation of free exercise, free speech, due process, and equal protection. The lawsuit, by the Alliance Defending Freedom, asks for an injunction against the Civil Rights Commission and sues the head of the commission in her personal capacity. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Phillips was the first individual to go before the Supreme Court in a religious liberty case dealing with whether or not Christian businesses could be forced to make a cake for a same-sex wedding if doing so violated their religious belief. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission ended with a 7-2 verdict in his favor, although it wasn’t as ringing of an endorsement as one might have hoped.
However, Phillips tells the Christian Post that however narrow you want to believe the decision to be, it hasn’t stopped customers from patronizing his Lakewood, Colorado cake shop.
“We have had so many people coming by to support us as the case has gone on, and there has been an outpouring of love and support since the decision came down,” Phillips told the Christian Post in an email.
“The state’s targeting of my beliefs cost me 40 percent of my business and forced me from 10 employees down to four. But we’re so happy to be busy doing what we do best at our shop.”
According to Phillips, since the ruling came down he’s had three times his normal amount of customers at the shop, meaning that happy days may be here again for Masterpiece Cakeshop.
“We’re also eager to start designing custom wedding cakes again,” Phillips said in the emails.
“A cake is a canvas, and I’m really looking forward to creating beautiful art that celebrates such a special day.”
While Phillips has received death threats, the community has mostly been supportive since the decision. Over 400 people gathered outside the shop to celebrate the Supreme Court victory earlier this month, and even members of the LGBT community have been civil.
“Since we won, we’ve seen far more support than negativity,” Phillips wrote.
“Even people who don’t believe what I do about marriage, including many who identify as LGBT, have been so encouraging. Tolerance is a two-way street. If we want freedom for ourselves, we have to extend it to those with whom we disagree. Most people get that.” – READ MORE
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