Supreme Court

SCOTUS Sides With Colorado Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case

In a 7-2 decision, the court said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips' First Amendment rights.

SCOTUS Sides With Colorado Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case
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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who wouldn't make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs.

In a 7-2 decision, the court said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips' First Amendment rights when it ruled against him.

As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion, "The Commission's hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment's guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion."

The high court didn't address the bigger question of whether a business owner can refuse service to gay and lesbian people because of their religious beliefs.

The incident in question took place in 2012. Lower courts in the state ruled the baker violated Colorado's public accommodations law, which says businesses open to the public can't deny service to customers based on a variety of factors such as race, disability, marital status or sexual orientation.