The Supreme Court is in the news yet again but not just because Justice Kennedy’s rumored retirement may be imminent.
On Monday morning the Court announced it would hear an appeal of a lower court’s decision that Colorado-based Christian bakers’ First Amendment rights were not violated when authorities penalized them for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding.
With the Court now at full membership with Gorsuch, the decision on this case almost certainly will set a far-reaching precedent given numerous similar cases around the country in which businesses have been forced to set aside their religious convictions in order to accommodate and endorse politically correct, liberal values.
Here’s more from Washington Examiner…
The Supreme Court decided Monday to hear a case involving a Colorado baker’s refusal to design and make a cake for a same-sex marriage.
The baker, Jake Phillips, declined to make the custom cake and said it conflicted with his religious beliefs. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission decided that Phillips’ actions amounted to sexual orientation discrimination under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
The Colorado Court of Appeals said the commission’s ruling did not violate the First Amendment because Phillips’ speech was “conduct compelled by a neutral and generally applicable law,” as attorneys for Phillips noted in their petition to the high court.
In granting Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court will tackle several hot-button issues including gay rights and First Amendment rights.
The case comes from the home state of Justice Neil Gorsuch, who joined the high court in April. The Supreme Court relisted the case several times for consideration, as it may have been waiting for a full nine-justice court to hear the case.
