Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

The Court ruled for a baker who declined to create a same-sex wedding cake on narrow free exercise grounds.

Overview

Jack Phillips refused to design a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, citing religious conviction, and was found to have violated Colorado's public accommodations law. Justice Kennedy, for a 7-2 majority, ruled for Phillips on the ground that the state commission had expressed hostility toward his religious beliefs during adjudication, while reaffirming that states generally may protect gay persons in the marketplace. The decision resolved nothing categorically, expressly leaving the larger conflict between religious liberty and anti-discrimination law for future cases.