Colorado Baker Appeals Gay 'Re-Education' Order
A Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is appealing a "re-education" order from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
The order requires cake artist Jack Phillips to create wedding cakes for gay couples and to re-educate his staff that the state's Anti-Discrimination Act means artists must endorse all views.
It also requires him to file quarterly compliance reports for two years.
According to Phillips' attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom, the reports must include the number of patrons that Phillips declines to serve, along with the reason.
The order stems from a 2012 incident in which Phillips refused a request from a gay couple to make a cake in honor of their commitment ceremony. Phillips said he told the couple that his faith would not allow him to bake them a wedding cake but that he would create any other baked good that they wished.
The Commission said that Philipps' refusal to make the cake violated the state's public accommodation law that requires businesses to serve customers regardless of their sexual orientation.
Phillips filed an appeal of the Commission's order with the Colorado Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
"Americans should not be forced by the government - or by another citizen - to endorse or promote ideas with which they disagree," Phillips' representative, ADF allied attorney Nicolle Martin, said.
