DOJ Sides With Baker In Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from a Colorado baker who refused to make cakes for same-sex weddings. The outcome of that case could have a huge impact on LGBTQ people in the U.S., and now the Trump administration has come out in support of the baker.
According to the Washington Post, in 2012, Christian baker Jack Phillips refused to make a cake for the wedding of Charlie Craig and David Mullins. He said doing so would go against his religious beliefs.
Craig and Mullins filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and two courts ruled that Phillips had violated Colorado's anti-discrimination law. Phillips lost his first case and his appeal, and now the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.
The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a brief with the Supreme Court, and it is backing the baker.
"Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights," the DOJ wrote.
The ACLU is defending Craig and Mullins in the case. ACLU deputy legal director Louise Melling called the DOJ's brief "shocking, even for this administration."
"What the Trump administration is advocating for is nothing short of a constitutional right to discriminate," she wrote.
The Supreme Court will hear the case in the fall.
Click here to see 15 fabulous gay wedding cakes and cake toppers.