The Patriot Post® · In Brief: Cake Artist Won at SCOTUS But Still in Court
Jack Phillips, a baker from Colorado, won his case before the Supreme Court years ago. Unfortunately, the justices didn’t go nearly far enough to rebuke the Rainbow Mafia goons still trying to force Phillips to bow to their cult. Phillips explains his continued predicament in an op-ed for Fox News.
I stood in court with my Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys once again on Tuesday, asking the Colorado Supreme Court for justice on essentially the same complaint that’s been pursuing me, relentlessly, for more than 10 years now: the demand that I express a message—whether I believe it or not.
I’m a cake artist. I treat my customers—each and all—with respect. I hope you know by now that I gladly serve people from all backgrounds. I decide to create custom cakes based on what they will express, not who requests them. It’s always the message, never the person. …
A few years ago, an attorney asked me to create a different cake, blue on the outside and pink on the inside. The attorney said this cake’s theme would “celebrate” and “symbolize” a “transition from male to female.” I could see the symbolism. The attorney also asked me to create a custom cake depicting Satan smoking marijuana, admittedly trying to change what I believe. But I can’t create custom cakes expressing those messages for anyone. They go against what I believe. So I politely declined, offering the attorney anything I would provide to other customers.
Then I was sued. I was no stranger to court. State officials had been prosecuting me for five years, comparing me to Nazis and slaveholders and denying me the same freedom they extend to secular artists — all because they disagreed with my religious beliefs. The Supreme Court later ruled that this hostility violated my religious freedom. The win was a relief, but the court did not address my freedom of speech — so I was exposed to more harassment.
Six years later, I’m still in court. I’m again facing punishment for declining to express a message I don’t believe. But it’s not just my freedom at risk. It’s yours too. We can disagree about how to define marriage and whether someone can transition from male to female but still agree that the government should not force anyone to express a message they don’t believe.
Will Phillips continue to prevail in court? It’s hard to say, but the years-long persecution by the Rainbow Mafia has certainly taken its toll. No group in America has more power to silence, badger, and oppress opponents than people who are very proud of their private parts.