Last Friday I wrote about an incident in which a local couple was refused service at the Masterpiece Cakeshop bakery in Lakewood because they are gay. I put a call in to Mindy Barton, Legal Director for The GLBT Community Center of Colorado to get a legal perspective on the situation.
“Without knowing more about this specific situation, it would seem that a bakery could be determined to be a place of public accommodation and, therefore, should be required to comply with the non-discrimination laws in this state,” said Barton. “The Legal & Advocacy Program at The Center encourages those who encounter discrimination in places of public accommodation to proceed with filing a complaint as quickly as possible against such a business that offers its goods or services in the stream of commerce in such a biased manner. Under the law, a complaint needs to be filed within 60 days of the date of the last alleged discriminatory action.”
She then added, “Colorado law supports the idea that goods and services in the marketplace need to be provided for purchase or use in a non-discriminatory manner. That is simply good business.”
The 2008 amendments to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in places of public accommodation. According to the law, a place of public accommodation can be ‘any place of business engaged in any sales to the public and any place offering services . . . to the public.’
The Colorado Civil Rights Division – the agency charged with enforcing the anti-discrimination laws in our state - has provided excellent guidance as to how they will interpret the law on their website. Click here for a .PDF of their brochure covering sexual orientation and transgender status discrimination in all three areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.
