Masterpiece Cakeshop owner sues governor
Jack Phillips claims religious persecution despite previous ruling in June by U.S. Supreme Court
The owner of a cake shop sued Gov. John Hickenlooper and other state officials late Tuesday, reigniting a debate over religious freedoms in the public square.
Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop claims in his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, that the state has renewed its “crusade” against him for refusing to create a cake that would have violated his religious beliefs.
According to the lawsuit, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that he once again violated the state’s nondiscrimination law when he refused to bake the cake. This time, it was for Autumn Scardina, an Arvada woman celebrating her birthday and the seventh anniversary of her gender transition.
The commission’s June opinion came despite Phillips’ earlier win at the U.S. Supreme Court over his refusal to make a cake for a gay wedding, the lawsuit says.
“The state of Colorado is ignoring the message of the U.S. Supreme Court by continuing to single out Jack for punishment and to exhibit hostility toward his religious beliefs,” said Kristen Waggoner, legal vice president of Alliance Defending Freedom, the organization representing Phillips.
However, the justices’ 7-2 decision in the cake maker’s earlier case was a narrow ruling that kept the state’s nondiscrimination laws intact but said the state commission did not appropriately weigh Phillips’ religious rights.
Hickenlooper told reporters Wednesday that he was not involved in the commission’s most recent ruling, but said the issue is one of the most thorny he has seen during his public service career. He said he expects the issue to return to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The first ruling from the Supreme Court did not address the basic issue,” he said,
referring to the religious freedom issue, “and that’s what I think the U.S. Supreme Court will have to address this time.”
The Civil Rights Commission and attorney general’s office declined to comment Wednesday. Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, has long been a supporter of the LGBTQ community.
Tuesday’s lawsuit reignites years of legal debate over how religious beliefs should be considered under Colorado’s public accommodation law. The 2008 state law forbids businesses from discriminating against customers on a variety of grounds including sexual orientation and gender.
Phillips and his cake shop first made national news in 2012, when he declined to make a wedding cake for a gay couple because of his religious objections to same-sex marriage. The years-long legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court this June in a decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy, who has authored a number of landmark rulings expanding gay rights, indicated that the decision was not all-encompassing.
At the time, observers on both sides of the case said the limited decision meant the broader debate would continue to be litigated.
On June 26, 2017, Scardina, a lawyer, filed a complaint with the commission claiming that the cake shop denied her request for a cake — blue on the outside and pink on the inside to represent her transition.
A store employee declined the request because the custom cake would have expressed messages about sex and gender identity that conflict with Phillips’ religious beliefs, according to Scardina’s complaint with the Civil Rights Commission.
“The woman on the phone did not object to my request for a birthday cake until I told her I was celebrating my transition from male to female,” Scardina wrote in her complaint. “I believe that I was not allowed to order a birthday cake because I requested that its colors celebrate my transition.”
Scardina on Wednesday did not return requests to comment.
In a June 28 decision letter, the commission wrote that there was probable cause to believe Masterpiece violated a state law by denying Scardina “equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation.” The letter ordered the bakery and Scardina to attempt an amicable resolution by compulsory mediation, according to Phillips’ legal team.
Jim Campbell, another lawyer for Phillips, said in a statement that Phillips shouldn’t have to fear government hostility when he opens his shop for business each day.
“We’re asking the court to put a stop to that,” Campbell said. “The arbitrary basis on which the state is applying its law makes clear that its officials are targeting Jack because they despise his religious beliefs and practices.”
One Colorado, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, said the new lawsuit was one of several filed in an effort to legalize discrimination.
“All people — including LGBTQ people — deserve to be served equally in public spaces, and no religious belief gives anyone the right to pick and choose whom they serve and what laws they want to follow,” Daniel Ramos, One Colorado’s executive director, said in a statement. “This is another attempt by the ADF to undermine laws that protect Coloradans in the areas of public accommodations, employment, and housing.”
Earlier this year, the state’s civil rights commission became a political flash point during the state’s regular legislative session. Some conservative lawmakers attempted to shut down the commission in part because of its role in the Masterpiece cake controversy.
Ultimately, Hickenlooper signed a bipartisan compromise that extended the commission through 2027 and changed the makeup of the commission, requiring it be more bipartisan.
On Wednesday, the governor denounced discrimination, saying “it’s not what America stands for.” He also stressed that he understood the value of a person’s religious freedom.
“This is a difficult question. When you’re talking about people’s religion, it doesn’t matter what religion, it’s one of the most tightly held American freedoms that we have,” he said. “It’s why millions of people fought and lost their lives.”