Colorado Court of Appeals Rules Masterpiece Cakeshop Guilty of Discrimination

Today the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the state’s Civil Rights Commission in Craig and Mullins v. Masterpiece Cakeshop. The Colorado Court affirmed the Commission’s ruling that the store violated Colorado law by refusing services to a gay couple based on the owner’s disapproval of their wedding.

Statement from National Center from Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Senior Staff Attorney Christopher F. Stoll:

“It is wrong for public businesses to refuse service to customers because of who they are. As the court’s decision today recognizes, businesses’ decisions to turn away customers based on irrelevant factors like race, sex, or sexual orientation have a negative effect on the economy and lead to unacceptable economic and social division. For more than 50 years, our laws have recognized the severe harm to individuals and society that occurs when businesses discriminate against customers. We congratulate our colleagues at the ACLU LGBT Rights Project and the ACLU of Colorado for this important victory.”

In February NCLR filed an amicus brief in support of Craig and Mullins, the appellees, describing the serious physical, psychological and social harms caused by discrimination.