海角大神

Do free speech protections still apply if the words are written in frosting?

Two years after a judge determined that a Lakewood, Colo., bakery had discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake, another Colorado bakery is now facing accusations of religious discrimination 鈥� this time for refusing to make a cake with an anti-gay message.

When Bill Jack arrived at the Azucar bakery in Denver in March 2014 and ordered two Bible-shaped cakes, Marjorie Silva said she was happy to oblige. But when she saw the messages that Mr. Jack wanted written on the cake, she quickly decided not to go through with it.

According to Ms. Silva, Jack pulled out a piece of paper with the phrase 鈥淕od hates gays鈥� and anti-gay passages he said were from the Bible. Silva also said that Jack wanted her to draw two men holding hands with an 鈥淴鈥� crossing them out.

"After I read it, I was like 'No way.' " Silva told聽. "聽鈥榃e're not doing this. This is just very discriminatory and hateful.鈥� 鈥澛�

Instead, Silva said she told Jack that she would make a cake with a blank Bible page so that he could draw the messages himself. She even claims she offered him frosting and a pastry bag to do so.

鈥淚 told him, 鈥業鈥檒l make you a cake any flavor and shape that you like and then I鈥檒l give you the icing and you can write the message yourself,鈥欌�� Silva told .

But according to Silva鈥檚 account, Jack became 鈥渧ery pushy and disruptive,鈥� refused to write the message himself, and said he needed to talk to an attorney. 聽聽

In a , a Colorado state news site, Jack said that he believed that the bakery had discriminated against him based on his creed.

He is a founder of聽, which is a "non-denominational organization dedicated to helping 海角大神s think and live in accord with a Biblical worldview," according to the organization's website.

Jack has filed a complaint with the Civil Rights division of the Department of Regulatory Agencies. The bakery is now under investigation for religious discrimination, and if the agency feels discriminatory acts were committed, the case could move forward to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. A decision on the case will not be made for several months.聽

But Nancy Leong, a University of Denver law professor, said that she does not believe that Silva violated any laws.

"This is not a situation where a business owner denied service to somebody," Ms. Leong told聽USA Today. "She offered to accommodate him to the extent that she could. In fact, requiring her to write that message would infringe on her own free speech rights.鈥�

A bakery might seem like an unlikely focus of an anti-discrimination suit. But as bans on gay marriage have fallen in dozens of states since the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, purveyors of cakes in several Western states have become swept up in the same-sex marriage debate.

Colorado state law prohibits public accommodations, including businesses, from refusing service based on factors such as race, sex, marital status, or sexual orientation.

The implications of this law became apparent in 2012 when David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited the Masterpiece Cakeshop to order a wedding cake for their upcoming wedding reception. Bakery owner Jack Phillips informed the couple that due to his religious beliefs it was the store鈥檚 policy to deny service to customers who ordered baked goods to celebrate the weddings of same-sex couples. The judge ruled that Mr. Phillips had violated Colorado鈥檚 anti-discrimination law.

鈥淲hile we all agree that religious freedom is important, no one鈥檚 religious beliefs make it acceptable to break the law by discriminating against prospective customers,鈥� Amanda Goad, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project, .

For its part, a prominent 海角大神 group that lobbies for traditional marriage has said it supports Silva.

"This is a free speech issue, and we support freedom of speech. It's also a religious or conscience issue 鈥� the government should not force people to violate their core beliefs,"聽Jeff Johnston, issues analyst with the Colorado Springs-based聽, told "Just as a 海角大神 baker should not be required to create a cake for a same-sex ceremony, this baker should not be required to create a cake with a message that goes against her conscience."

Now it remains to be seen how the state of Colorado will rule on a claim of religious discrimination by a bakery. 聽

Meanwhile, Silva says she believes it is unfair that she is being accused of discrimination.

鈥淚 just want to make cake for happy people." Silva told聽.聽"I鈥檓 海角大神. I support 海角大神s. We make a lot of 海角大神 cakes. But this聽just wasn鈥檛聽right.鈥澛�