A lawsuit has been filed against a Christian baker, Jack Phillips, for refusing to bake a cake meant to celebrate a gender transition. Previously, Philips has come under attacks by LGBTQ folks because he doesn’t take their cake orders.
In the previous law suits, Philips always got the victory. One of them was in 2018 with the U.S Supreme Court. During this period, the baker was tried for refusing to bake a cake meant for the wedding of a same-sex couple. Philips is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado.
In this present lawsuit, Autumn Scardina, a transgender attorney wanted a cake to celebrate her transition. In 2017, she made the first effort to order the cake. This was the day Philip’s case on refusal to bake a same-sex wedding cake was heard by the Supreme Court.
According to Associated Press, Scardina who held a meeting with the state judge in Denver on Monday argues that Philips refused to bake her cake because of his Christian faith. He said that the cake would involve a religious ceremony and it goes against his faith. However, he does not mind selling other products to her.
In a response by Philips lawyer, he said that Philip’s decision not to bake the transgender cake was not because he is discriminating against Scardina. However, he is not in support of the message the cake would portray.
Senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, Jim Campbell, trashed the case stating that it is another plan to embarrass the cake baker. This is considering the fact that he has faced similar issues in the past.
“This latest lawsuit looks like yet another desperate attempt to harass cake artist Jack Phillips. And it stumbles over the one detail that matters most: Jack serves everyone; he just cannot express all messages or celebrate all events through his custom cakes."
“No American should be bullied or banished from the marketplace simply for living and working consistently with their faith. But this new lawsuit threatens to do just that,” Campell asserted.
Initially, Scardina accused Phillips of discrimination when she pressed charges against him and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. But Philips sued the state and complained that it was getting involved in a "crusade to crush" him with the complaint.
Both cases were dropped in 2019 under the condition that Scardina can continue with the case independently.
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