Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake

A baker who won a partial victory in the U.S. Supreme Court after refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple has lost his appeal in his latest trial.

DENVER. A Colorado baker who won a partial victory in the U.S. Supreme Court after he refused to bake a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal battle over his rejection of a birthday cake request. in honor of gender. transition.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the cake that Autumn Skardina requested from Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop, which was supposed to be pink with blue icing, was not a form of speech.

It also found that a state law that prohibits denial of services to people based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, or sexual orientation does not violate the right of business owners to practice or express their religion.

Drawing on the findings of a Denver judge in the 2021 trial of the dispute, the appeals court said Phillips’ store initially agreed to make the cake but then refused after Scardina explained she was going to use it to celebrate her transition from a man. to a woman. .

“We concluded that the creation of a pink cake with blue icing is not inherently expressive, and any message or symbolism it conveys to an observer will not be attributed to the baker,” said the court, which also dismissed Phillips’s procedural arguments.

Phillips, who is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, claims the cakes he creates are a form of speech and plans to appeal.

“There is no need to agree with Jack’s views to agree that all Americans should have the right to say what they believe, even if the government disagrees with those beliefs,” ADF senior adviser Jake Warner said in a statement.

John McHugh, one of the lawyers representing Skardina, said the court carefully reviewed all the arguments and evidence in the lawsuit.

“They just object to Ms. Skardina wanting a birthday cake that reflects her status as a transgender woman because they object to the existence of transgender people,” he said of Phillips and his shop.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission acted with anti-religious bias in enforcing anti-discrimination law against Phillips after he refused to bake Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins’ wedding cake in 2012. the judges called the commission an unfair disregard for Phillips’ religious beliefs.

The High Court did not rule at the time on the broader issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to deny service to LGBT people, but it has another chance to do so.

Last year, there was another case challenging Colorado’s anti-discrimination law brought by a Christian graphic artist who doesn’t want to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. Laurie Smith, who is also represented by the ADF, claims the law violates her freedom of speech.

Skardina’s lawyer attempted to order her a cake on the same day in 2017 that the Supreme Court announced it would hear Phillips’ appeal in the wedding cake case. During her trial, she testified that she wanted to “challenge the veracity” of Phillips’ claims that he would cater to LGBT clients.

Before filing the lawsuit, Scardina first filed a complaint against Phillips with the State and Civil Rights Commission, which found a probable reason that he discriminated against her.

Phillips then filed a federal lawsuit against Colorado, accusing him of “crusading to crush” him by pursuing a complaint.

In March 2019, state attorneys and Phillips agreed to dismiss both cases in an agreement that Skardina was not involved in. She independently filed a lawsuit against Phillips and Masterpiece.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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