If justice delayed is justice denied, then Colorado cake artist Jack Phillips has been denied justice for far too long. Twelve years too long.
On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Colorado Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Scardina. At issue is whether the state of Colorado can force Phillips to create a custom-designed cake — pink on the inside and blue on the outside — to celebrate and symbolize an impossible “gender transition” from male to female.
The case is also known as Masterpiece III since this is Phillips’ third attempt to preserve his First Amendment rights in the American judicial system. On the very day the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take up Phillips’ first case, a transgender-identifying activist attorney named Autumn Scardina called Phillips’ shop and requested he create the custom pink-and-blue cake. As a Christian who believes God created human beings male and female, Phillips politely declined. This led Scardina to file a civil lawsuit (Masterpiece III) against Phillips.
Jack Phillips serves all people. He will gladly sell anything in his shop to anyone — including people who identify as LGBT.
But what he won’t do is propagate messages that violate his core beliefs. That’s why he’s also refused to create custom cakes celebrating Halloween or cakes advocating for the use of marijuana. He’s even declined to create cakes that denigrate people, including people who identify as LGBT.
But that hasn’t stopped some, including Scardina, from disparaging and persecuting Phillips. Scardina has called Phillips a “bigot” and a “hypocrite” — but he is neither. Phillips is a Christian who refuses to place profit and political correctness over his faith and conscience. He chooses the narrow gate, not the wide one. Now, why did Scardina call Phillips’ shop, and not one of the hundreds of other bakeries located in the Denver area? And why did he happen to call Phillips on the exact day the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take his first case?
Jack Phillips is being targeted by his ideological opponents to create controversial cakes because they know it is something he cannot do. Scardina even asked Phillips to create a custom cake depicting Satan smoking marijuana and has admitted to requesting the cakes to “test” Phillips and to “correct the errors of [his] thinking.”
Phillips’ antagonists have deliberately gone after him to ruin his life, destroy his livelihood, and run him out of business. The left often accuses Christians of being intolerant. But the record clearly shows that the bullies going after Phillips are the intolerant ones, determined to prosecute their prejudiced crusade.
With a record like the one described above, you’d think Masterpiece III would be an open-and-shut case in Phillips’ favor. But you’d be wrong. Phillips has already lost at both the trial court level and the Colorado Court of Appeals, which ruled 3-0 against him on Jan. 26, 2023. Nothing is for certain, but it’s more likely than not that the eventual ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court will be more of the same.
During oral arguments on Tuesday, several of “the justices used female pronouns to refer to Scardina,” who is a man. And all seven justices were appointed by Democrat governors. Should Phillips lose again at the Colorado Supreme Court, he’ll likely need to appeal — once again — to the U.S. Supreme Court. He refuses to cave.
Thankfully, the current Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly in favor of free speech. Just last year, the court ruled in favor of Christian graphic artist and website designer Lori Smith in 303 Creative v. Elenis, protecting her from a Colorado law that would have forced her to use her artistic talents to convey messages that violate her beliefs about marriage. If the need arises, we can hope the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Phillips’ favor once again.
In concluding his argument before the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, Phillips’ lawyer Jake Warner said, “For over a decade, in lawsuit after lawsuit, Phillips has advocated for the right of every American to express what they believe without fear of government punishment.”
“This freedom protects the LGBT artist as much as the Christian,” Warner added. “It protects us all. To preserve this freedom, the harassment must stop. This court should reverse.”
Indeed, it should. Until a decision is reached, Christians, conservatives, and all people of goodwill should rally around Jack Phillips and support him. You can visit his shop in Lakewood, Colorado, or visit his online store.
