Masterpiece Cakeshop back in court

The Colorado commission that violated Jack Phillips’ religious liberty by trying to force him to make cakes for same-sex marriages is after the baker again. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission that the state treated Phillips differently because of his Christian faith. Less than a month later, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against Phillips in a similar dispute stemming from his 2017 refusal to make a cake celebrating someone’s decision to change genders. The commission ordered Phillips to undergo mediation with the customer, a lawyer who identifies as transgender.

Phillips and Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents him, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the commission for again violating the baker’s First Amendment rights. “Even though Jack serves all customers and simply declines to create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events in violation of his deeply held beliefs, the government is intent on destroying him—something the Supreme Court has already told it not to do,” said Kristen Waggoner, senior vice president of ADF.