IF DECORATING A cake counts as constitutionally protected speech, what doesn’t count? That was the question at stake during Supreme Court oral arguments in Masterpiece Cake shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
The case—which centers on whether a state may, in the interest of preventing discrimination, require a private baker to produce a custom wedding cake for a same-sex marriage celebration—was heard in early December.
As Jack Phillips, the baker in question, put it in a recent USA Today op-ed, his creations are “not just a tower of flour and sugar, but a message tailored to a specific couple and a specific event—a message telling all who see it that this event is a wedding and that it is an occasion for celebration.” Such a message in the case of a gay union, he wrote, “contradicts my deepest religious convictions.” His lawyers argue that nonetheless forcing him to “sketch, sculpt, and hand paint” a cake, as the state civil rights commission has done, is “compelled speech” and a violation of his First Amendment rights.
Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av Reason magazine.
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Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av Reason magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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