U.S. Supreme Court backs Christian baker who rebuffed gay uple | Rters

Contents:

• SUPREME COURT TOSS LG AGAST BAKERS WHO REFED KE FOR GAY UPLE
• SUPREME COURT HEARS WHY BAKER REFED TO MAKE A WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE
• BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG: 'I DON'T DISCRIMATE'
• THE BAKER WHO REFED TO SERVE A GAY COUPLE
• US SUPREME COURT RUL IN FAVOUR OF BAKER WHO REFED TO SERVE GAY COUPLE
• U.S. SUPREME COURT BACKS CHRISTIAN BAKER WHO REBUFFED GAY UPLE
• IN NARROW OPN, SUPREME COURT RUL FOR BAKER IN GAY-RIGHTS CASE
• IN NARROW LG, SUPREME COURT GIV VICTORY TO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG
• SUPREME COURT L FAVOR OF BAKER WHO WOULD NOT MAKE WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE
• RULG MA SE OF COLO. BAKER WHO REFED GAY WEDDG KE
• SUPREME URT SIS WH BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE GAY WEDDG KE
• SUPREME COURT SIS WH BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE

SUPREME COURT TOSS LG AGAST BAKERS WHO REFED KE FOR GAY UPLE

The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lg agast two Oregon bakers who refed to bake a weddg ke for a lbian uple, Melissa and Aaron Kle, ced relig beliefs as their reason for not providg servic for a gay weddg. WASHINGTON SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST FLORIST WHO REFUSED SERVICE FOR GAY COUPLE'S WEDDINGOn Monday, the Supreme Court sent the Kle se back down to a lower urt "for further nsiratn light of" their Colorado central disput the se -- which ps LGBT rights agast relig eedom nsiratns -- have yet to be addrsed by the Supreme Court. Kle then said the bakery do not make k for gay weddgs, urt documents 's mother, who was wh her, said Kle quoted the Bible when explag his Kles had to pay a $135, 000 judgment to the uple for discrimatg agast them vlatn of a state public acmodatns statute.

Supreme Court appeared closely divid Tuday the se of a Colorado baker who refed to make a ke for a gay uple's weddg baker, Jack Phillips, said would vlate his eedom of exprsn.

SUPREME COURT HEARS WHY BAKER REFED TO MAKE A WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE

But the uple he turned down said refg to serve gay ctomers was illegal discrimatn. He has wrten all the urt's gay rights lgs, but he is also one of the urt's most arnt advot of ee speech rights.

"If you prevail, " he asked the lawyer for Phillips, "and bakeri put signs the wdow sayg, 'We don't bake k for gay weddgs, ' wouldn't that be an afont to the gay muny? "Kennedy seemed to take the oppose si of the se when he told a lawyer for the gay uple, "Tolerance is sential a ee society, " but add that Colorado wasn't very tolerant of Phillips' relig beliefs when the state's human rights missn led agast cint that brought the se to the high urt lasted only a few mut, the day David Mulls and Charlie Craig of Denver walked to Masterpiece Phillips found out they wanted a ke for a receptn to celebrate their weddg, he said, "I'm sorry, guys, I n't do that.

"After the uple filed a formal plat, the Colorado urts led that the state's public acmodatn law, which bans discrimatn by pani offerg their servic to the public, did not allow Phillips to refe the gay uple's requt.

BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG: 'I DON'T DISCRIMATE'

And the ACLU's David Cole, argug for the gay uple, said that was rrect. "The narrow Supreme Court lg lg Phillips’ se applied to the specific facts of his se only and gave ltle ht as to how the urt might ci future s volvg florists, bakers, photographers and other bs owners who have ced relig and ee-speech objectns when refg to serve gay and lbian ctomers the wake of the Supreme Court's 2015 same-sex marriage cisn.

Opn|The Baker Who Refed to Serve a Gay Couple ADVERTISEMENTLettersJune 27, 2017Cred... That is absolutely no different om refg to serve gay and lbian upl orrg a weddg on Jack Phillips for promotg prejudice his bs. We have no right to impose our personal valu when we are bs to sell to the WEINSTOCK, NEW YORKTo the Edor:I am pletely agast discrimatn and have joyfully officiated at many gay weddgs sce I married and th was eligible to ntue as a prit.

Also, would a lg om the Supreme Court require creatg a ke for the lol chapter of the Ku Klux Klan wh s hallmark racial and relig prejudice or the Wtboro Baptist Church wh s od anti-gay msage? A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 26 of the New York edn wh the headle: The Baker Who Refed to Serve a Gay Couple. Colorado Baker Jack Phillips had refed to serve a gay uple when they walked to his shop 2012.

THE BAKER WHO REFED TO SERVE A GAY COUPLE

The US Supreme Court livered a historic but limed victory Monday to a Colorado baker who refed to sign a weddg ke for a same-sex uple, a closely-watched se ptg gay rights agast relig a 7-2 cisn, the high urt led that while the Colorado Civil Rights Commissn termed that Masterpiece Cakhop mt serve clients regardls of sexual orientatn, the panel showed "clear and impermissible hostily" toward the baker's relig missn's bias therefore vlated baker Jack Phillips's rights unr the US Constutn's First Amendment, the jtic they did not fively le on the issue of whether a bs n cle to serve gays and lbians based on relig views, meang the broar ntent issue is likely to Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage natnwi 2015, and Colorado law prohibs discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn. "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. "He noted that the panel's "official exprsns of hostily to relign" was "nsistent" wh s strict requirement for liberal jtic, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, joed the nservativ the majory lg on the most signifint se for gay rights sce the high urt approved same-sex marriage.

"A person should be ee to refe to be ed as a mouthpiece for an objectnable msage, " he December, Phillips's lawyers argued before the urt that while the baker was perfectly willg to sell ready-ma products to anyone, a weddg ke n be nsired artistic exprsn, and such creatns n exprs a msage -- somethg Phillips was not prepared to do for a gay ke se beme a flashpot Amerin polil circl recent years, wh Republin lawmakers eager to plant the flag of relig eedom backg the baker. Supreme Court on Monday hand a victory on narrow grounds to a Colorado baker who refed based on his Christian beliefs to make a weddg ke for a gay uple, stoppg short of settg a major precent allowg people to claim relig exemptns om anti-discrimatn jtic, a 7-2 cisn, said the Colorado Civil Rights Commissn showed an impermissible hostily toward relign when found that baker Jack Phillips vlated the state’s anti-discrimatn law by rebuffg gay uple David Mulls and Charlie Craig 2012.

US SUPREME COURT RUL IN FAVOUR OF BAKER WHO REFED TO SERVE GAY COUPLE

The cisn also did not addrs important claims raised the se cludg whether bakg a ke is a kd of exprsive act protected by the Constutn’s ee speech of the urt’s four liberals, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, joed the five nservative jtic the lg thored by Jtice Anthony Kennedy, who also wrote the landmark 2015 cisn legalizg gay marriage baker se beme a cultural flashpot the Uned Stat, unrsrg the tensns between gay rights proponents and nservative sis claimed a measure of victory.

U.S. SUPREME COURT BACKS CHRISTIAN BAKER WHO REBUFFED GAY UPLE

The uple’s supporters noted that the lg embraced the importance of gay rights and ma clear that bs open to the public mt serve everyone.

“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, ” Kennedy Kennedy said the state missn’s hostily toward relign “was nsistent wh the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied a manner that is ntral toward relign. ”Kennedy said the missn led the oppose way three s brought agast bakers which the bs owners refed to bake k ntag msag that meaned gay people or same-sex marriage. “The First Amendment prohibs ernments om discrimatg agast cizens on the basis of relig beliefs, ” Attorney General Jeff Ssns said a cisn ma clear that even if the urt ultimately l a future se that bakers or other bs that sell creative products such as florists and weddg photographers n avoid punishment unr anti-discrimatn laws, most bs open to the public would have no such the 50 stat, 21 cludg Colorado have anti-discrimatn laws protectg gay se marked a tt for Kennedy, who has thored signifint lgs that advanced gay rights but also is a strong advote for ee speech rights and relig eedom.

“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, ” Kennedy a wrten dissent, Jtice Ruth Bar Gsburg, joed by fellow liberal Sonia Sotomayor, said what mattered was that Phillips would not provi a good or service to a same-sex uple that he would provi to a heterosexual ligatn, along wh siar s around the untry, was part of a nservative Christian backlash to the Supreme Court’s gay marriage lg. Mulls and Craig were planng their weddg Massachetts 2012 and wanted the ke for a receptn Colorado, where gay marriage was not yet legal.

IN NARROW OPN, SUPREME COURT RUL FOR BAKER IN GAY-RIGHTS CASE

Phillips and others like him who believe that gay marriage is nsistent wh their Christian beliefs have said they should not be required to effectively endorse the practice. The jtic on Thursday will nsir whether to hear an appeal by a Washgton state flower shop owner who refed to create a floral arrangement to celebrate a gay weddg, based on her Christian beliefs.

The se began when a same-sex uple Colorado — Charlie Craig and Dave Mulls — filed a plat wh the state civil-rights missn after baker Jack Phillips told them that he did not sign ctom k for gay upl.

IN NARROW LG, SUPREME COURT GIV VICTORY TO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG

Kennedy said is "unexceptnal" that Colorado law "n protect gay persons acquirg products and servic on the same terms and ndns that are offered to other members of the public, " but at the same time, "the law mt be applied a manner that is ntral toward relign. Moreover, the state law at the time afford storekeepers some latu to cle creatg specific msag they nsired offensive, and the Colorado missn had prevly allowed three different bakers to refe to put an anti-gay msage on a ke. " Throughout the opn, Kennedy seemed to be balancg the ledger, tryg not to disturb public acmodatn laws like the one Colorado and reeratg that gay people may "not be treated as outsts.

" While a member of the clergy clearly nnot be forced to nduct a weddg ceremony for a same-sex uple, vlatn of his relig views, Kennedy said, Colorado "n protect gay persons, jt as n protect other class of dividuals. He closed by sayg that "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.

SUPREME COURT L FAVOR OF BAKER WHO WOULD NOT MAKE WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE

They argued that as the Colorado missn had prevly allowed bakers to refe to rate k wh anti-gay signs, the missn's cisn to le agast Phillips was herently nsistent and discrimated agast some relig groups.

It gave no ht as to how the urt might ci future s volvg florists, bakers, photographers and other bs owners who have ced relig and ee-speech objectns when refg to serve gay and lbian ctomers the wake of the Supreme Court's 2015 same-sex marriage the 7-2 cisn, the urt said legal proceedgs Colorado had shown a hostily to the baker's relig views. "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, " Kennedy the lg, which me durg Pri Month, gave ltle guidance to the lower urts about how to balance those petg cisn was a victory for Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakhop Denver, who has said that his k are works of art and that requirg him to bake them for same-sex weddgs would force him to exprs a view that vlated his relig beliefs. Craig and Mulls filed a plat after nservative Christian baker Jack Phillips refed to make them a weddg ke for their same-sex Somovilla / Getty ImagAfter the uple filed a formal plat, Colorado urts led that the state's public acmodatn law, which bans discrimatn by pani offerg their servic to the public, did not allow Phillips to refe the gay uple's requt.

RULG MA SE OF COLO. BAKER WHO REFED GAY WEDDG KE

The Supreme Court on Monday led for a Colorado baker who refed to create a weddg ke for a same-sex uple, but left uncid whether a bs owner’s relig beliefs or ee speech rights n jtify refg some servic to gay people. “The ntral and rpectful nsiratn to which Phillips was entled was promised here, ” Kennedy wrote, addg that the missn’s cisn that the baker vlated the state’s anti-discrimatn law mt be set Kennedy acknowledged that the cisn was more of a start than a ncln to the urt’s nsiratn of the rights of those wh relig objectns to same-sex marriage and the rights of gay people, who “nnot be treated as social outsts or as ferr digny and worth. (Vio: Rters)Future s that raise those issu “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, ” he a se uld e quickly: The urt is set to nsir this week whether to review a Washgton state Supreme Court cisn that a florist uld not legally cle to provi flowers to a same-sex weddg bakery se was one of two cisns Monday — a lg on an immigrant teenager’s abortn was the other — which the urt opted for promise rather than divisn.

”But Jam Esseks of the Amerin Civil Liberti Unn, which reprented the uple at the center of the fight, Charlie Craig and David Mulls, poted to Kennedy’s protective language about gay cizens and the “general le” that relig and other objectns “do not allow bs owners and other actors the enomy and society to ny...

On the other, he has wrten all of the urt’s groundbreakg opns on gay rights, cludg that there is a nstutnal right for same-sex upl to had signaled oral arguments that ments om members of the missn displayg “relig hostily” might be the narrow way out. DENVER -- A suburban Denver baker who wouldn't make a weddg ke for a same-sex uple nnot ce his relig beliefs refg them service bee would lead to discrimatn, the Colorado Court of Appeals led cisn is the latt victory for gay upl, who have won siar s other stat.

SUPREME URT SIS WH BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE GAY WEDDG KE

Gay rights supporters and relig eedom advot have passnately bated whether dividuals n ce their beliefs as a basis for clg to participate a same-sex weddg is bound to get more heated after the U. They were married Massachetts but planned to celebrate the lg, Phillips fac f if he ref to make weddg k for gay upl. Phillips has mataed that he has no problem servg gay people at his store but says that makg a weddg ke for a same-sex weddg would vlate his Christian beliefs.

They said there are bound to be more s where bs' relig nvictns clash wh gay recent s elsewhere, a bakery the Portland, Oregon, area that cled to make a weddg ke for a gay uple two years ago was orred to pay $135, 000 damag years ago, the New Mexi Supreme Court led that a photographer who wouldn't take pictur of a gay uple's 2006 mment ceremony vlated the state's anti-discrimatn law. And Washgton state, a florist has been fightg a lawsu filed after she refed to provi servic for a gay weddg 2013.

In December 2013, a judge for the missn led that Phillips discrimated agast the uple and orred him to change his store policy agast makg k for gay weddgs or face f. In the opn issued by Jtice Anthony Kennedy, the urt disagreed wh a Colorado urt's prev lg that the gay uple, Charlie Craig and Dave Mulls, had been discrimated agast based on sexual orientatn.

SUPREME COURT SIS WH BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE WEDDG KE FOR GAY UPLE

"In 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, " Kennedy wrote the cisn. "The urt reversed the Masterpiece Cakhop cisn based on ncerns unique to the se, but reaffirmed s longstandg le that stat n prevent the harms of discrimatn the marketplace, cludg agast LGBT people, " said Louise Mellg, puty legal director of the and Mulls plaed to the Colorado Civil Rights Commissn after they sat down wh Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakhop, for a weddg ke sign appotment and he told them that he did not sign k for gay weddgs.