A Christian baker is suing the Colorado Civil Rights Commission for its persistent attempts to force him to bake cakes which violate his conscience.
Jack Phillips recently won a landmark case in the US Supreme Court, which agreed that his right to freedom of religion had been infringed when he was targeted by the Commission for refusing to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Since that ruling in June, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop has been told he must bake a cake for a transgender person to celebrate their ‘gender transition’.
Targeting
Phillips’ refusal to bake the cake saw the Commission filing another complaint against him.
In the Supreme Court verdict in June, judges ruled that the Commission was hostile towards religion and that Phillips’ right to practise his religion freely had been breached.
Lawyers from religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which defended Phillips in his last case, say the Commission is unjustly targeting their client.
They accused the Commission of being “both accusers and adjudicators” in Phillips’ case.
Hostility to religion
ADF lawyer Kristen Waggoner said: “The same agency that the Supreme Court just said is hostile to Jack Phillips remains committed to treating him unequally and forcing him to express messages that violate his religious beliefs.”
She added that while the baker would be happy to serve anyone, “Jack doesn’t create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events that contradict his deeply held beliefs.
“Apparently, that isn’t enough for the Commission. It insists on forcing Jack to celebrate ideas and events that violate his faith.”