Court: California Cannot Force a Business Owner to Do This

While Jack Phillips of Colorado waits for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the First Amendment protects his religious freedom to refuse to bake a cake for a homosexual “wedding,” a court in California just ruled in favor of a Christian baker in similar circumstances.

The two men who complained about Phillips could have bought a cake already made, but Phillips, a Christian, refused to use his artistic talents to create a cake for their “wedding.”

Cathy Miller, owner of a bakery in California, apparently offered to sell two women a cake already on display for their “wedding,” but they decided to sue instead. The court, however, contended there was no discrimination. From Kern Golden Empire (emphasis added):

If Miller had refused to sell the couple a cake on display then the act would be discriminatory.

The judge stated an order from the state to compel someone to directly go against their beliefs would be “the stuff of tyranny.”

Judge David Lampe also stated in the eight-page ruling: “For this court to force such compliance would do violence to the essentials of Free Speech guaranteed under the First Amendment.”
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“Our bakery and our family feel very blessed that the judge ruled in our favor. Not to say that we want to be discriminatory, but we do need to stand up for our religious freedom and for our freedom of speech.”