Huge news for religious liberty: The Justice Department filed a brief supporting the Colorado baker who is being punished by his state government for not baking a cake for a same-sex “wedding” ceremony.
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, had refused to sell a customized cake for a gay couple’s union, claiming a religious exemption to the state’s anti-discrimination law.
“When Phillips designs and creates a custom wedding cake for a specific couple and a specific wedding, he plays an active role in enabling that ritual, and he associates himself with the celebratory message conveyed,” Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall wrote in the brief.
Wall added, “Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights.”
The Supreme Court announced in June it will hear the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case. State courts had ruled against the businessman.