Colorado Condemns Jack Phillips For Being A Devout Christian, Again

After the Colorado Court of Appeals, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips, a devout Christian, is now facing legal persecution. ruled that he violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws for refusing to bake a cake celebrating transgenderism.

A three-judge panel determined on Thursday that Phillips’s firmly held belief that “God designed people male and female” is moot when it comes to his family business’s decision to decline the sales of certain cakes.

The same day that the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in a similar case in 2018, Phillips’s shop was approached by transgender activist Autumn Scardina who deliberately stated intent to “correct the errors of [Phillips’] thinking.” Scardina asked Phillips to create a pink cake with blue frosting to celebrate her engagement. “gender transition.” Scardina also requested a cake “an image of Satan smoking marijuana.”

Phillips refused, because it was a celebration of transgenderism. “conflicts with [his] Bible’s teachings,” which Scardina knew, Scardina sued him under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) for allegedly denying the sale based on Scardina’s “gender status.”

“Phillips works with all people and always decides whether to take a project based on what message a cake will express, not who is requesting it,” A press release by Alliance Defending Freedom states that Phillips is represented by the organization.

His belief “that a person’s gender is biologically determined,” A trial court in 2021 fined Phillips $500. Phillips appealed, arguing that the rejection of his cake order was based on a presumption. “firm and sincere religious beliefs and the right to be free from compelled speech that would violate those beliefs.

The appeals court, however, concluded that the cake Scardina tried to order inherently “expressed no message.” The judges agreed. “expressive conduct need not contain verbal speech or the written word to be entitled to First Amendment protection” But concluded that “not all conduct constitutes speech.”

ADF already announced its plans to appeal the court of appeals’ decision.

“Free speech is for everyone. No one should be forced to express a message that violates their core beliefs,” ADF Senior Counsel Jake Warner and Phillips’s lawyer said In a statement “Over a decade ago, Colorado officials began targeting Jack, misusing state law to force him to say things he does not believe. Then an activist attorney continued that crusade. This cruelty must stop.”

Phillips has been persecuted for his deep religious convictions regarding sex and marriage for more than ten years.

Phillips won a partial win on a related issue in 2018, when Phillips was heard by the Supreme Court decided The Colorado officials wanted to punish the cake decorator who refused to make a 2012 cake that celebrated a gay marriage. “a clear and impermissible hostility toward [Phillips’] sincere religious beliefs.”

The Supreme Court has an opportunity to reaffirm Christians’ rights to refuse certain services on religious grounds in 303 Creative v. ElenisADF Case No. 62, where a Christian artist challenges Colorado discrimination laws, is still being released