Once again, the Masterpiece Cakeshop run by Jack Phillips tries to claw its way back into the spotlight, this time by refusing to bake a cake for a trans woman’s birthday, a violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, CNN reports.
A state court in Denver ruled against Masterpiece and fined the business $500, the maximum fine under state law. CADA was updated in 2016 to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ people by businesses and organizations.
Phillips became a cause celebre in conservative circles for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012, claiming that it violated his religious beliefs. The case made it to the US Supreme Court, which found in Phillips’ favor because the state law did not explicitly include LGBTQ people as a protected class at the time.
At the time, Phillips said that he could not bake a wedding cake for a gay couple because it would symbolize his participation and therefore, his endorsement of a gay marriage, which is a religious rite. He said both publicly and during the trial that he would be happy to make birthday cakes, shower cakes, cookies, and brownies for LGBTQ customers.
In 2017, Autumn Scardina, a trans lawyer from Denver, tried to have the bakery make a custom cake with colors and designs that would celebrate her “re-birth” due to her transition from male to female. Phillips refused, and Scardina sued.
“I’m elated that the Colorado courts upheld the principle that Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws are valid, constitutional and will be enforced and that people cannot evade them with appeals to religious beliefs or claims of expression, especially when the conduct is not expressive in any reasonable way,” Scardina told CNN. “I have tremendous respect for (Phillips) as a human. I think he’s entitled to his religious beliefs. I share many of those religious beliefs, and I think we agree far more than we disagree, however, I’ve always felt that he doesn’t appreciate that basic principle.”
The bakery originally accepted the order for a pink cake with blue icing, but when they learned the meaning of the colors, they told Scardina they would not accept the order.
“Jack Phillips serves all people but shouldn’t be forced to create custom cakes with messages that violate his conscience,” Kristen Waggoner, Phillips’ attorney through the Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel, said in a statement. “Radical activists and government officials are targeting artists like Jack because they won’t promote messages on marriage and sexuality that violate their core convictions.”