Masterpiece Cakeshop ordered to stop discriminating against gay couples

A judge has ordered that Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood stop discriminating against gay couples seeking wedding cakes. The judge's ruling (on view below) is in response to a complaint filed by same-sex couple Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, who said that Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips refused to bake them a...

By Melanie Asmar

December 6, 2013

What happens on the ground matters — Your support makes it possible.

We’re aiming to raise $17,000 by August 10, so we can deepen our reporting on the critical stories unfolding right now: grassroots protests, immigration, politics and more.

Contribute Now

Progress to goal

$17,000

$1,250

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "23668565",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "23853568",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17242653",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "24956856",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25 
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17676724",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

A judge has ordered that Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood stop discriminating against gay couples seeking wedding cakes. The judge's ruling (on view below) is in response to a complaint filed by same-sex couple Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, who said that Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips refused to bake them a wedding cake last year.

Phillips admitted as much to the judge. According the ruling, Phillips is a Christian who believes that baking a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage would "be displeasing God."

"Phillips believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God," the ruling by Judge Robert Spencer says. "That its accounts are literally true and that its commands are binding on him. Phillips believes that God created Adam and Eve, and that God's intention for marriage is the union of one man and one woman."

Colorado state law, however, prohibits "a place of public accommodation" -- which includes cake cops, Spencer says in the ruling -- from discriminating against a person based on his or her sexual orientation. Spencer didn't buy Phillips's argument that he's not opposed to gay people, just gay weddings.

"The salient feature distinguishing same-sex weddings from heterosexual ones is the sexual orientation of its participants," Spencer writes. "Only same-sex couples engage in same-sex weddings. Therefore, it makes little sense to argue that refusal to provide a cake to a same-sex couple for use at their wedding is not 'because of' their sexual orientation."

Read the entire ruling below.

Initial Decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

Follow @CafeWestword

Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She'd love to hear it.

A message from Food & Drink Editor Molly Martin: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s evolving dining scene and the latest culinary innovations our community offers.

Support Today