Gay Couple Presses Charges Against The Bakery That Refused To Make Them A Wedding Cake
David Mullins and husband Charlie Craig have filed a formal discrimination complaint against Colorado bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, that refused to make them a wedding cake because they are gay.
Their action goes against a Colorado law that prohibits businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation.
The couple recently married in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2004; though same-sex marriage is not legal in Colorado, the state did approve civil unions this year.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado has helped Mullins and Craig to initiate the complaint process.
This is not the first time that the bakery has denied a same-sex couple service. Earlier this year, one of the bakery's owners Jack Phillips, told Stephanie Schmalz and her partner Jeanine that the bakery has "a strict policy against selling cakes for same-sex weddings and ceremonies."
The Schmalz called back later, pretending to be planning a wedding ceremony for two dogs. Phillips immediately gave her a quote for the cake.
The owners of Masterpiece Cakeshop have cited their "reading of the Word of God" as the reason behind their policy against serving same-sex couples.
According to Mark Silverstein, the legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, "We are all entitled to our religious beliefs and we fight for that. But someone's personal religious beliefs don't justify breaking the law by discriminating against others in the public sphere."