Colorado Court of Appeals to Hear Arguments in Case of Gay Couple Discriminated Against By Bakery

The Colorado Court of Appeals will hear arguments this Tuesday, July 7th in the case of David Mullins and Charlie Craig, a same-sex couple who were discriminated against, in violation of long-standing Colorado law, when Masterpiece Cakeshop refused to sell them a cake for their wedding reception. The case comes before the Court after Masterpiece Cakeshop appealed a unanimous ruling by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in May 2014 finding that the Lakewood bakery’s policy of denying service to same-sex couples violated Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
 
David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012, with Craig’s mother, to order a wedding cake. Mullins and Craig planned to marry in Massachusetts and then celebrate with family and friends back home in Colorado. Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips informed the couple that, because of his religious beliefs, it was his standard business practice to refuse to provide cakes to customers for same-sex weddings. Mr. Phillips has turned away several other couples for the same reason.

Colorado state law prohibits businesses from refusing service based on factors such as race, sex, age or sexual orientation. In 2013, an administrative law judge ruled that the bakery had illegally discriminated against the couple. In 2014, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission affirmed that ruling.