Masterpiece Cakeshop Owner Sues Colorado Over New Discrimination Allegation

Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, is now suing Colorado, this time for investigating his refusal to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition. Phillips brought the latest lawsuit against state civil-rights officials and Gov. John Hickenlooper Tuesday night. In June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips in his same-sex wedding-cake case. The court ruling was specific to Phillips’ case. “The outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts, all in the context of recognizing that these disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. In the latest case, Phillips declined to make a cake for transgender woman Autumn Scardina in June. She requested a cake that is blue on the outside and pink on the inside to reflect her male-to-female transition, as she was coming out as transgender on her birthday. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission argued that Scardina was denied “equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation.” Attorney Kristen Waggoner, of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Phillips said, “The state of Colorado is ignoring the message of the U.S. Supreme Court by continuing to single out Jack for punishment and to exhibit hostility toward his religious beliefs.”