There may be some justice for baker Jack Phillips of Colorado in his fight against being forced to create a cake for a gay wedding. Last week, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court on the baker’s behalf stating he could not be forced to “use his talents” to create something that violates his religious beliefs.
In 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins decided to get married. As they made plans for the ceremony, they visited Phillips’ bakery and was told by the owner that he would not make a cake for a gay wedding. The surprised couple later filed a complaint claiming a violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act based on the section prohibiting a business from refusing service to a customer based on sexual orientation. Phillips lost his case, but the government stepped in to lend support:
“Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights,” Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall wrote in the brief.
Phillips said his reason for refusing to make the cake had nothing to do with the couple and everything to do with his faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible. Mullins also claimed the lawsuit had nothing to do with Phillips or even that it was about him and his partner. Instead, he said, “it’s about the principle that gay people should be able to receive equal service at businesses open to the public.”
A First Amendment Violation
The DOJ’s brief argued the court’s decision went against Phillip’s First Amendment rights:
…in a manner akin to the governmental intrusion in Hurley [a case in which the courts ruled that the state government could not require protesters to include other groups whose message was contrary to their own]. Colorado has not offered, and could not reasonably offer, a sufficient justification for that compulsion here.
Phillips was not refusing service to Craig and Mullins; he was just not offering products and services he didn’t already provide. So, the couple was not refused at the bakery; they were just told the type of product they wanted was not available at that business.
If this kind of infringement on the First Amendment continues in this vein, does that mean that Christian book stores will have to sell material on erotica and devil worshiping? Will business owners ever again have the freedom to choose which kinds of products and services they provide? Will Christians be forced to put aside their beliefs and go against their morals to provide products and services to those who could just as easily go to another like business and get what they wanted?
Hypocrisy in the Name of Agenda
And, if Phillips was guilty of discriminating against a customer, what about as Liberty Nation reported, the little boy who wanted a President Donald Trump themed birthday cake, and his mother could not find a bakery to accommodate? Why did the Supreme Court not cry foul over this?
The government is trying to take too much control over every aspect of our lives, and the left is following right behind cheering all the way. How long will it take for artists to be told they cannot follow their creative talent and will instead have to paint what the public demands? Will every bakery, bookstore, gift shop and so forth become clones of each other as they struggle to provide the exact same things for every person’s wants and desires for fear of offending someone? Will we lose the uniqueness private business owners bring to consumers, offering them a choice of products and services?
The products a business chooses to sell should not be forced by the government. The question, friends, is not will this happen, but when? If business owners are not allowed freedom to run their companies, it is a matter of when this will come to fruition.
