Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission treated a Christian baker unfairly for ruling against him after he refused to create a custom “wedding” cake for two homosexuals, the state went after him again when he refused to make a custom cake celebrating sex “transitioning.”
But it’s over. For now. The commission has dismissed the complaint against Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, after he had to endure government harassment for standing by his religious convictions. In return, Phillips agreed to drop his lawsuit against the commission.
His legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), found evidence of bias among the commissioners.
The fact that one commissioner called Phillips a “hater” on Twitter was already publicly known. But a Colorado state legislator recently disclosed that he spoke in November 2018 to a current commissioner who expressed the belief that “there is anti-religious bias on the Commission.” And just last week, ADF attorneys uncovered statements from a 2018 public meeting in which two commissioners voiced their support for comments that a previous commissioner, Diann Rice, made in 2015. Those comments, which the U.S. Supreme Court sternly condemned in its ruling in favor of Phillips last year, called religious freedom “a despicable piece of rhetoric.”
At the June 22, 2018, public meeting, members of the commission discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling. During that discussion, Commissioner Rita Lewis said, “I support Commissioner Diann Rice and her comments. I don’t think she said anything wrong.” Later, Commissioner Carol Fabrizio added, “I also very much stand behind Commissioner Rice’s statements…. I was actually proud of what she said, and I agree with her…. I’m almost glad that something the Commissioner said ended up public and used, because I think it was the right thing.”
A similar case is still pending in Washington state. The government went after Christian florist Barronelle Stutzman for declining to arrange flowers for a homosexual “wedding.” But the Supreme Court vacated the ruling against her and told the court to reconsider her case.
