Baker who refused to bake for gay couple
Colorado baker loses appeal over birthday cake for gender transition celebration
By Colleen Slevin/AP
The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition.
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that that the cake Autumn Scardina requested from Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop, which was to be pink with blue frosting, is not a form of speech.
It also found that the state law that makes it illegal to refuse to provide services to people based on protected characteristics like race, religion or sexual orientation does not violate business owners' right to practice or express their religion.
Relying on the findings of a Denver decide in a trial in the dispute, the appeals court said Phillips' shop initially agreed to make the cake but then refused after Scardina explained that she was going to operate it to celebrate her transition from m
Colorado high court to hear case against Christian baker who refused to make trans-themed cake
On the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court victory this summer for a graphic artist who didn’t want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, Colorado’s highest court said Tuesday it will now verb the case of a Christian baker who refused to produce a cake celebrating a gender transition.
The announcement by the Colorado Supreme Court is the latest development in the yearslong legal saga involving Jack Phillips and LGBTQ rights.
Phillips won a partial victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake.
He was later sued by Autumn Scardina, a transgender woman, after Phillips and his suburban Denver bakery refused to make a pink cake with blue frosting for her birthday and to celebrate her gender transition.
Scardina, an attorney, said she brought the lawsuit to “challenge the veracity” of Phillips’ statements that he would serve LGBTQ customers. Her attorney said her cake order was not a “set up” intended to file a lawsuit.
The Colorado Suprem
Ashers 'gay cake' case: European court rules case inadmissible
BBC News NI
A gay rights activist has lost a seven-year discrimination dispute over a cake order as the European Court of Human Rights ruled his case inadmissible.
Gareth Lee started legal action back in after a Christian-run Belfast bakery refused to make him a cake with the slogan "Support Gay Marriage".
The family stable Ashers said the slogan contravened their Christian beliefs.
The European court ruled Mr Lee's case inadmissible, saying he had failed to exhaust all options in the UK courts.
The Belfast man has long argued that by refusing to fulfil his order, the bakery had discriminated against him on grounds of his sexual orientation and political beliefs.
He won his original case and a subsequent appeal in the UK courts, but in the UK Supreme Court disagreed with the lower courts and found in favour of the bakery.
Mr Lee then took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, where it was examined by seven judges who decided, by majori
'Gay cake' row: What is the dispute about?
In October , the owners of the bakery lost their appeal against the ruling that their refusal to build a "gay cake" was discriminatory.
Appeal court judges said that, under law, the bakers were not allowed to provide a service only to people who agreed with their religious beliefs, external.
Reacting to the ruling, Daniel McArthur from Ashers said he was "extremely disappointed" adding that it undermined "democratic freedom, religious independence and free speech".
The firm then took the case to the Supreme Court and they won.
The UK's highest court ruled the bakery's refusal to make a cake with a slogan supporting same-sex marriage was not discriminatory.
Then president of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, ruled the bakers did not refuse to fulfil the order because of the customer's sexual orientation.
"They would verb refused to make such a cake for any customer, irrespective of their sexual orientation," she said.
"Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to