After four years of litigation, the Colorado Supreme Court has said they will not take an appeal in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Craig. In that case, Jack Phillips refused to use his business to make a gay wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins. Craig and Mullins filed a discrimination complaint against him with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Phillips sued to defend himself against this complaint. The court ordered Phillips to make cakes for gay couples in the future. He was also ordered to submit quarterly compliance reports and make all his staff undergo sensitivity training to indoctrinate them for the gays and against the baker’s beliefs.
This is just the latest sad case where the gay lobby has tried to bully someone into compliance with their liberal agenda. They threaten those who take a stand for their religious convictions and claim that Christian beliefs are emotionally traumatizing. This is clearly unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. All Americans have the right to freely exercise their religious convictions as they see fit. That includes how they conduct business affairs. Bakers, photographers, florists, ministers and others should not be dragged into court for living out their faith.
The best way to protect these people is for more states to implement Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, legislation that reaffirms the rights of people to act in accordance with their religion. Twenty-one states already have such laws to protect people of faith from legal bullying. Many other states are considering adopting them. I recommend every state to have such a law. They uphold the Constitution and protect people of faith. This Colorado Cakeshop case is a pressing example of why these laws are so important to the cause of religious freedom. I encourage all people who love our Constitution to support Religious Freedom Restoration Acts.
Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her best-selling 1964 book, A Choice Not An Echo. She has been a leader of the pro-family movement since 1972, when she started her national volunteer organization called Eagle Forum. In a ten-year battle, Mrs. Schlafly led the pro-family movement to victory over the principal legislative goal of the radical feminists, called the Equal Rights Amendment. An articulate and successful opponent of the radical feminist movement, she appears in debate on college campuses more frequently than any other conservative.
