Colorado Court Decides That Cake Shop Owner Was 'Discriminatory And Unfair'

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that owner of a bakery discriminated against a gay couple when he refused to make them a wedding cake.

Back in 2012, David Mullins and Charlie Craig ordered a wedding cake from Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver. However, owner Jack Phillips refused to make the cake for them because he did not support same-sex marriage.

On August 14, a three-judge panel unanimously decided that Phillips' refusal to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples constitutes "discriminatory and unfair practice."

The court opinion noted that Phillips' First Amendment arguments prompted them to investigate whether the cake was requested to be made with a specific message advocating support of same-sex marriage, and found that that was not the case. It stated, "We note, again, that Phillips denied Craig's and Mullins' request without any discussion regarding the wedding cake's design or any possible written inscriptions."

The cake shop's lawyers argued that the cake itself acts as a message advocating support of same-sex marriage, but the court disagreed.

On June 26, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to legalize same-sex marriages throughout the country.