Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Denver Post Slams Anti-Gay Bakery Owner


This blog has previously noted the ruling against anti-gay bakery owner Jack Phillips whose Masterpiece Cakeshop refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple.  The ruling was based on Colorado's public accommodations law that requires commercial enterprises to provide services to all members of the public.  Phillips is whining that his "religious liberty" is being trampled upon.  The Denver Post has piled on and slammed Phillips and by extension other Christofascists who believe that they are above the law.  Here are excerpts from the editorial:


If you're going to sell wedding cakes in Colorado, you have to sell them to everyone who comes into your shop. You can't pick and choose among customers based upon your belief that some weddings are immoral. 

That's the principle that administrative law judge Robert N. Spencer reinforced with his recent ruling that the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood must sell wedding cakes to gay couples. It's the right call — and not even a close one in our view.

Cake-maker Jack Phillips refused to sell a wedding cake to two gay men in July 2012, and has been arguing since that his religious objection to same-sex marriage provides him with a constitutional exemption to the state's public accommodation law.
But as Judge Spencer explains, our society settled this matter some time ago. If such arguments were correct, Spencer notes, "it would allow a business that served all races to nonetheless refuse to serve an interracial couple because of the business owner's bias against interracial marriage."

Masterpiece Cakeshop is a commercial enterprise, not a religious institution, even if Phillips believes he honors God through his artistic efforts in cake decoration.
It is not unusual for merchants to deal with people whose values or behavior they disapprove of. If you're in business, though, you have a duty to sell your wares to all comers.
Like most selfish, self-centered Christofascist who only feel good about themselves when denigrating others, Phillips is a bigot who wants special rights.  The irony is that the Christofascists claim that gays want special rights yet is they, not gays, who are demanding special rights.

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