A Colorado baker who had won a narrow U.S. Supreme Court victory over his refal to make a weddg ke for a gay uple on Thursday lost his appeal of a lg a separate se that he vlated a state anti-discrimatn law by not makg a ke to celebrate a genr transn.
Contents:
- IN NARROW LG, SUPREME COURT GIV VICTORY TO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG
- SUPREME COURT SIS WH ANTI-GAY BAKER. IT’S NOT A LOSS FOR LGBT EQUALY.DON'T PANICA CHRISTIAN BAKER N REFE SERVICE TO A SAME-SEX UPLE FOR NOW, BUT ONLY BEE THE STATE LLED HIS BELIEFS ‘OFFENSIVE.’ EVEN LIBERAL JTIC AGREED.JAY MICHAELSONUPDATED DEC. 27, 2018 5:40PM EST / PUBLISHED JUN. 04, 2018 12:04PM EDT OPNPHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEASTEVERYONE IS GOG TO SAY THE SUPREME COURT’S LG MASTERPIECE CAKHOP IS A W FOR THE CHRISTIAN BAKER WHO REFED TO BAKE A KE FOR A SAME-SEX UPLE. THEY’RE WRONG. THIS SE WAS FORFEED BY THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSN.IN THE COURT’S 7-2 OPN, WRTEN BY JTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY, THE COURT CID THE SE ON NARROW, AND UNUAL, GROUNDS: THAT THE MISSN WAS ACTIVELY HOSTILE TO THE RELIG BELIEFS OF THE BAKER, JACK PHILLIPS. AS A RULT, THE COURT’S OPN DIDN’T REACH THE EPER ISSU UNRNEATH, AND WE KNOW NO MORE ABOUT THEM THAN WE DID BEFORE THE SE ME DOWN.THAT’S WHY THE VOTE WAS 7-2: BEE, THE END, THIS WAS AN EASY SE. THE ISSU UNRNEATH ARE HARD: THEY ARE ABOUT THE NFLICT BETWEEN THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND RIGHTS TO BE EE OM DISCRIMATN. IS A KE “SPEECH?” DID PHILLIPS REFE TO BAKE A GENERIC KE FOR GAY PEOPLE, OR DID HE REFE TO BAKE A SPECIAL GAY-WEDDG KE? WHEN DO A SCERE RELIG BELIEF JTIFY DISCRIMATN, AND WHEN DON’T ?THE ANSWER IS, WE STILL DON’T KNOW. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE COLORADO MISSN ROYALLY MSED UP, LLG PHILLIPS’ BELIEFS “IRRATNAL” AND “OFFENSIVE.” AGREE OR DISAGREE WH THAT CHARACTERIZATN, PASSG SUCH JUDGMENT IS NOT THE ERNMENT’S BS. THAT’S HOW JTIC KAGAN AND GORSUCH WERE ABLE TO AGREE ON THE OUTE OF THIS SE. THE FIRST AMENDMENT REQUIR ERNMENT OFFICIALS TO BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIGN, AND THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN WAS NOT.“THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSN’S TREATMENT OF [PHILLIPS’] SE,” JTICE KENNEDY WROTE, “HAS SOME ELEMENTS OF A CLEAR AND IMPERMISSIBLE HOSTILY TOWARD THE SCERE RELIG BELIEFS THAT MOTIVATED HIS OBJECTN.”IT DIDN’T HELP THAT THE MISSN ALSO FAILED TO EXPLA WHY PHILLIPS WAS BEG TREATED DIFFERENTLY OM A BAKER WHO REFED TO BAKE A KE WH AN ANTI-GAY MSAGE. JTICE KAGAN, HER NCURRG OPN, ACTUALLY SET FORTH HOW THE MISSN ULD HAVE DISTGUISHED THE S: PHILLIPS REFED TO SERVE GAY PEOPLE, WHEREAS THE OTHER BAKER REFED TO BAKE THAT KE FOR ANYONE. BUT THE MISSN DIDN’T DO THAT. IT JT SAID THAT THE ANTI-GAY KE WAS OFFENSIVE AND THE GAY-WEDDG KE WASN’T. “THE FIRST AMENDMENT REQUIR ERNMENT OFFICIALS TO BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIGN, AND THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN WAS NOT.” EVEN THE COURT’S OPN HTED AT THIS POT: “WHILE THE ISSU HERE ARE DIFFICULT TO ROLVE, MT BE NCLUD THAT THE STATE’S TERT ULD HAVE BEEN WEIGHED AGAST PHILLIPS’ SCERE RELIG OBJECTNS A WAY NSISTENT WH THE REQUISE RELIG NTRALY THAT MT BE STRICTLY OBSERVED.” IN OTHER WORDS, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A HARD SE HAD THE MISSN DONE S JOB RIGHT. BUT DIDN’T, AND SO THIS BEME AN EASY ONE.IF THE COLORADO MISSN WAS THE BIG LOSER MASTERPIECE CAKHOP, A WAY THE BIG WNER IS JTICE KENNEDY.OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, MENTATORS LIKE ME HAVE WONRED HOW KENNEDY ULD (SORRY ABOUT THIS) “HAVE HIS KE AND EAT TOO” THIS SE. ON THE ONE HAND, KENNEDY IS THE THOR OF EVERY MAJOR LGBT OPN RECENT SUPREME COURT HISTORY, AND HE HAS NEVER LED AGAST LGBT PEOPLE. ON THE OTHER HAND, KENNEDY IS A VNTED EE-SPEECH LIBERTARIAN, AND WAS HARD TO SEE HOW HE, AS THE LIKELY SWG VOTE, ULD EVER PEL A BAKER TO WRE WORDS ON A KE THAT HE DIDN’T WANT TO WRE.WELL, HE FOUND A WAY. GAY AMERINS JT RECEIVED ANOTHER HELPG OF POWERFUL, EVEN MOVG, JUDICIAL RHETORIC. “OUR SOCIETY HAS E TO THE REGNN THAT GAY PERSONS AND GAY UPL NNOT BE TREATED AS SOCIAL OUTSTS OR AS FERR DIGNY AND WORTH,” JTICE KENNEDY WROTE. “FOR THAT REASON THE LAWS AND THE CONSTUTN N, AND SOME STANC MT, PROTECT THEM THE EXERCISE OF THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS.”AND YET, ON THE OTHER HAND, “THE OFFICIAL EXPRSNS OF HOSTILY TO RELIGN SOME OF THE MISSNERS’ MENTS… WERE NSISTENT WH WHAT THE FREE EXERCISE CLSE REQUIR.”WH JTICE KENNEDY OCCUPYG THE CENTER, THAT LEFT FOUR OTHER OPNS TO ARGUE THE SE WE ALL EXPECTED. JTICE KAGAN (JOED BY JTICE BREYER) WROTE SEPARATELY TO EMPHASIZE THAT HAD THE SE BEEN PROPERLY PRENTED, PHILLIPS WOULD HAVE LOST. JTICE GORSUCH (JOED BY JTICE ALO) WROTE TO SAY THAT PHILLIPS PROBABLY WOULD HAVE WON. JTICE THOMAS (JOED BY JTICE GORSUCH) WROTE TO SAY PHILLIPS WOULD ALSO HAVE WON ON EE SPEECH GROUNDS.AND JTICE GSBURG (JOED BY JTICE SOTOMAYOR) DISSENTED, ARGUG THAT THE HOSTILE MENTS WERE ONLY BY CERTA MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN, THAT PHILLIPS’S REFAL TO SELL A KE TO A GAY UPLE IS WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, AND THAT NNOT BE ALLOWED TO STAND. IF YOU TALLY UP THOSE NCURRG AND DISSENTG OPNS, YOU’VE GOT THREE FOR THE BAKER AND FOUR AGAST, LEAVG ONLY CHIEF JTICE ROBERTS AND JTICE KENNEDY UNACUNTED FOR. WHICH IS WHAT MOST MENTATORS KNEW GOG : THAT THIS WAS GOG TO E DOWN TO THE TWO OF THEM. SO, WHERE DO WE GO OM HERE?ON A RHETORIL LEVEL, THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT IS GOG TO CHEER THIS AS A HUGE VICTORY FOR RELIG EEDOM. ALREADY, THEY HAVE FILED NUMERO FOLLOW-UP S, HOPG TO EXTEND MASTERPIECE CAKHOP TO FLORISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, FOR-PROF WEDDG HALLS, EVEN LAWYERS AND DOCTORS. JT BEE OF HOW WAS CID, THE SE IS A W FOR THE RIGHT S ONGOG “CULTURE WAR.” AND JACK PHILLIPS N REFE TO SELL K TO SAME-SEX UPL.ON AN ACTUAL LEGAL LEVEL, THOUGH, THIS SE SAYS ALMOST NOTHG. BEE OF THE MISSN’S OPEN HOSTILY TO PHILLIPS’S RELIG BELIEFS, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN A MORE NTRAL SE. AS WE’VE JT SEEN, THE CURRENT VOTE ON THAT QUTN IS 4 TO 3, WH THE TWO SWG VOT ABSTAG.INED, EVEN PHILLIPS HIMSELF ULD WELL BE RE-SANCTNED BY THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN, G THE RATNALE THAT JTICE KAGAN HAS HELPFULLY LAID OUT HER OPN. THERE IS NOTHG THE COURT’S JUDGMENT PROHIBG THE MISSN OM DOG SO, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY FD MORE POLIC TO LET GO. ESSENTIALLY, ALL THIS SE SAYS IS “WHEN ENFORCG CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS, THE ERNMENT MT BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIG CLAIMS.” AND WE KNEW THAT ALREADY. THIS SE SAYS NOTHG. JAY MICHAELSON
IN NARROW LG, SUPREME COURT GIV VICTORY TO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG
That p the rights of LGBTQ people agast merchants’ relig objectns, an issue that remas unsettled by the natn’s top Monday, durg a virtual trial beg nducted by a state judge Denver, Srda said Phillips had mataed that, as a Christian, he opposed makg the gay uple’s weddg ke bee volved a relig ceremony but would sell any other type of said she lled Phillips’ Masterpiece Cakhop to place the orr after hearg about the urt’s announcement bee she wanted to fd out if he really meant her lawyer Pla Greisen asked whether the ll was a “setup, ” she said was not. However, the jtic did not le on the larger issue of whether bs n voke relig objectns to refe service to gays or urt is currently nsirg a related issue a se over whether a Catholic social servic agency n refe to work wh same-sex upl as foster parents Philalphia.
But the hight urt the land is not cidg the big issue the se – whether a bs n refe to serve gay and lbian Supreme Court jtic' limed lg Monday turns on what the urt scribed as anti-relig bias on the Colorado Civil Rights Commissn when led agast baker Jack Phillips. Supreme Court victory after refg on relig grounds to make a gay uple’s weddg ke a NBC Out on Twter, Facebook & Instagram.
That opn, also wrten by Kennedy, exprsed rpect for those wh relig objectns to gay marriage. “Our society has e to the regnn that gay persons and gay upl nnot be treated as social outsts or as ferr digny and worth, ” he wrote Monday.
SUPREME COURT SIS WH ANTI-GAY BAKER. IT’S NOT A LOSS FOR LGBT EQUALY.DON'T PANICA CHRISTIAN BAKER N REFE SERVICE TO A SAME-SEX UPLE FOR NOW, BUT ONLY BEE THE STATE LLED HIS BELIEFS ‘OFFENSIVE.’ EVEN LIBERAL JTIC AGREED.JAY MICHAELSONUPDATED DEC. 27, 2018 5:40PM EST / PUBLISHED JUN. 04, 2018 12:04PM EDT OPNPHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEASTEVERYONE IS GOG TO SAY THE SUPREME COURT’S LG MASTERPIECE CAKHOP IS A W FOR THE CHRISTIAN BAKER WHO REFED TO BAKE A KE FOR A SAME-SEX UPLE. THEY’RE WRONG. THIS SE WAS FORFEED BY THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSN.IN THE COURT’S 7-2 OPN, WRTEN BY JTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY, THE COURT CID THE SE ON NARROW, AND UNUAL, GROUNDS: THAT THE MISSN WAS ACTIVELY HOSTILE TO THE RELIG BELIEFS OF THE BAKER, JACK PHILLIPS. AS A RULT, THE COURT’S OPN DIDN’T REACH THE EPER ISSU UNRNEATH, AND WE KNOW NO MORE ABOUT THEM THAN WE DID BEFORE THE SE ME DOWN.THAT’S WHY THE VOTE WAS 7-2: BEE, THE END, THIS WAS AN EASY SE. THE ISSU UNRNEATH ARE HARD: THEY ARE ABOUT THE NFLICT BETWEEN THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND RIGHTS TO BE EE OM DISCRIMATN. IS A KE “SPEECH?” DID PHILLIPS REFE TO BAKE A GENERIC KE FOR GAY PEOPLE, OR DID HE REFE TO BAKE A SPECIAL GAY-WEDDG KE? WHEN DO A SCERE RELIG BELIEF JTIFY DISCRIMATN, AND WHEN DON’T ?THE ANSWER IS, WE STILL DON’T KNOW. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE COLORADO MISSN ROYALLY MSED UP, LLG PHILLIPS’ BELIEFS “IRRATNAL” AND “OFFENSIVE.” AGREE OR DISAGREE WH THAT CHARACTERIZATN, PASSG SUCH JUDGMENT IS NOT THE ERNMENT’S BS. THAT’S HOW JTIC KAGAN AND GORSUCH WERE ABLE TO AGREE ON THE OUTE OF THIS SE. THE FIRST AMENDMENT REQUIR ERNMENT OFFICIALS TO BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIGN, AND THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN WAS NOT.“THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSN’S TREATMENT OF [PHILLIPS’] SE,” JTICE KENNEDY WROTE, “HAS SOME ELEMENTS OF A CLEAR AND IMPERMISSIBLE HOSTILY TOWARD THE SCERE RELIG BELIEFS THAT MOTIVATED HIS OBJECTN.”IT DIDN’T HELP THAT THE MISSN ALSO FAILED TO EXPLA WHY PHILLIPS WAS BEG TREATED DIFFERENTLY OM A BAKER WHO REFED TO BAKE A KE WH AN ANTI-GAY MSAGE. JTICE KAGAN, HER NCURRG OPN, ACTUALLY SET FORTH HOW THE MISSN ULD HAVE DISTGUISHED THE S: PHILLIPS REFED TO SERVE GAY PEOPLE, WHEREAS THE OTHER BAKER REFED TO BAKE THAT KE FOR ANYONE. BUT THE MISSN DIDN’T DO THAT. IT JT SAID THAT THE ANTI-GAY KE WAS OFFENSIVE AND THE GAY-WEDDG KE WASN’T. “THE FIRST AMENDMENT REQUIR ERNMENT OFFICIALS TO BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIGN, AND THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN WAS NOT.” EVEN THE COURT’S OPN HTED AT THIS POT: “WHILE THE ISSU HERE ARE DIFFICULT TO ROLVE, MT BE NCLUD THAT THE STATE’S TERT ULD HAVE BEEN WEIGHED AGAST PHILLIPS’ SCERE RELIG OBJECTNS A WAY NSISTENT WH THE REQUISE RELIG NTRALY THAT MT BE STRICTLY OBSERVED.” IN OTHER WORDS, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A HARD SE HAD THE MISSN DONE S JOB RIGHT. BUT DIDN’T, AND SO THIS BEME AN EASY ONE.IF THE COLORADO MISSN WAS THE BIG LOSER MASTERPIECE CAKHOP, A WAY THE BIG WNER IS JTICE KENNEDY.OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, MENTATORS LIKE ME HAVE WONRED HOW KENNEDY ULD (SORRY ABOUT THIS) “HAVE HIS KE AND EAT TOO” THIS SE. ON THE ONE HAND, KENNEDY IS THE THOR OF EVERY MAJOR LGBT OPN RECENT SUPREME COURT HISTORY, AND HE HAS NEVER LED AGAST LGBT PEOPLE. ON THE OTHER HAND, KENNEDY IS A VNTED EE-SPEECH LIBERTARIAN, AND WAS HARD TO SEE HOW HE, AS THE LIKELY SWG VOTE, ULD EVER PEL A BAKER TO WRE WORDS ON A KE THAT HE DIDN’T WANT TO WRE.WELL, HE FOUND A WAY. GAY AMERINS JT RECEIVED ANOTHER HELPG OF POWERFUL, EVEN MOVG, JUDICIAL RHETORIC. “OUR SOCIETY HAS E TO THE REGNN THAT GAY PERSONS AND GAY UPL NNOT BE TREATED AS SOCIAL OUTSTS OR AS FERR DIGNY AND WORTH,” JTICE KENNEDY WROTE. “FOR THAT REASON THE LAWS AND THE CONSTUTN N, AND SOME STANC MT, PROTECT THEM THE EXERCISE OF THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS.”AND YET, ON THE OTHER HAND, “THE OFFICIAL EXPRSNS OF HOSTILY TO RELIGN SOME OF THE MISSNERS’ MENTS… WERE NSISTENT WH WHAT THE FREE EXERCISE CLSE REQUIR.”WH JTICE KENNEDY OCCUPYG THE CENTER, THAT LEFT FOUR OTHER OPNS TO ARGUE THE SE WE ALL EXPECTED. JTICE KAGAN (JOED BY JTICE BREYER) WROTE SEPARATELY TO EMPHASIZE THAT HAD THE SE BEEN PROPERLY PRENTED, PHILLIPS WOULD HAVE LOST. JTICE GORSUCH (JOED BY JTICE ALO) WROTE TO SAY THAT PHILLIPS PROBABLY WOULD HAVE WON. JTICE THOMAS (JOED BY JTICE GORSUCH) WROTE TO SAY PHILLIPS WOULD ALSO HAVE WON ON EE SPEECH GROUNDS.AND JTICE GSBURG (JOED BY JTICE SOTOMAYOR) DISSENTED, ARGUG THAT THE HOSTILE MENTS WERE ONLY BY CERTA MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN, THAT PHILLIPS’S REFAL TO SELL A KE TO A GAY UPLE IS WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, AND THAT NNOT BE ALLOWED TO STAND. IF YOU TALLY UP THOSE NCURRG AND DISSENTG OPNS, YOU’VE GOT THREE FOR THE BAKER AND FOUR AGAST, LEAVG ONLY CHIEF JTICE ROBERTS AND JTICE KENNEDY UNACUNTED FOR. WHICH IS WHAT MOST MENTATORS KNEW GOG : THAT THIS WAS GOG TO E DOWN TO THE TWO OF THEM. SO, WHERE DO WE GO OM HERE?ON A RHETORIL LEVEL, THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT IS GOG TO CHEER THIS AS A HUGE VICTORY FOR RELIG EEDOM. ALREADY, THEY HAVE FILED NUMERO FOLLOW-UP S, HOPG TO EXTEND MASTERPIECE CAKHOP TO FLORISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, FOR-PROF WEDDG HALLS, EVEN LAWYERS AND DOCTORS. JT BEE OF HOW WAS CID, THE SE IS A W FOR THE RIGHT S ONGOG “CULTURE WAR.” AND JACK PHILLIPS N REFE TO SELL K TO SAME-SEX UPL.ON AN ACTUAL LEGAL LEVEL, THOUGH, THIS SE SAYS ALMOST NOTHG. BEE OF THE MISSN’S OPEN HOSTILY TO PHILLIPS’S RELIG BELIEFS, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN A MORE NTRAL SE. AS WE’VE JT SEEN, THE CURRENT VOTE ON THAT QUTN IS 4 TO 3, WH THE TWO SWG VOT ABSTAG.INED, EVEN PHILLIPS HIMSELF ULD WELL BE RE-SANCTNED BY THE COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS MISSN, G THE RATNALE THAT JTICE KAGAN HAS HELPFULLY LAID OUT HER OPN. THERE IS NOTHG THE COURT’S JUDGMENT PROHIBG THE MISSN OM DOG SO, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY FD MORE POLIC TO LET GO. ESSENTIALLY, ALL THIS SE SAYS IS “WHEN ENFORCG CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS, THE ERNMENT MT BE NTRAL TOWARD RELIG CLAIMS.” AND WE KNEW THAT ALREADY. THIS SE SAYS NOTHG. JAY MICHAELSON
“At the same time the relig and philosophil objectns to gay marriage are protected views and some stanc protected forms of exprsn, ” Kennedy wrote, addg that the “ntral nsiratn to which Phillips was entled was promised here. “The oute of s like this other circumstanc mt awa further elaboratn the urts, all the ntext of regnizg that the disput mt be rolved wh tolerance, whout undue disrpect to scere relig beliefs, and whout subjectg gay persons to digni when they seek goods and servic an open market, ” the opn stat. “It’s about the right of gay people to receive equal service.