Just when you thought it was safe to eat dessert again, the Cake Wars have begun anew.
You might recall the strangest frontier of the neverending culture war, Christian cake shops. In 2012, Christian baker Jack Phillips refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. Citing his faith, he refused to bake the cake. The couple sued, and a showdown between religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws bounced around the lower courts for years, before eventually landing at the doorstep of the nation’s highest court.
In a result that took many by surprise, the Supreme Court ultimately sided with the Christian baker in a 7-2 margin. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said that “the religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression."
Now the skirmish continues, but this time the shoes are on opposite feet. Last month, an LGBT-owned cake shop in Detroit received an order for a cake with a homophobic message on it.
Here’s what happened.
A Red Velvet Troll
April Anderson, who is gay, owns one of Detroit’s most popular cake shops, Good Cakes and Bakes. She told the Detroit Free Press that she recently received a very offensive cake order.
“I am ordering this cake to celebrate and have PRIDE in true Christian marriage," the online order read. "I’d like you to write on the cake, in icing, 'Homosexual acts are gravely evil. (Catholic Catechism 2357)'"
Anderson’s first thought was that “this can’t be real.” She thought it might be from trolls looking for a lawsuit - it seemed highly improbable someone would order a $40 anti-gay cake from an LGBT-owned cake shop accidentally.
After all, it’s not like the shop being owned by lesbian women was any sort of big secret.
"It says it on our about page and social media pages and very clear that this bakery is owned by two lesbian women,” Anderson said.
Using Google, she identified the orderer as David Gordon, a copyeditor at Church Militant, a fringe group designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.
Anderson, not wanting to get embroiled in a lawsuit, ended up baking the cake. But she omitted the message in accordance with her shop’s long-standing policy of not writing messages on specialty cakes ordered online.
She says Gordon sounded surprised when she called him to tell him his red velvet cake would be ready to pick up at 3:30 the following Saturday. He never ended up picking up the cake, but did opine to the Detroit Free Press on Twitter that he was the victim.
"I was denied the services I requested at a place of public accommodation on the basis of the content of my beliefs,” he said.
Sweet Victory for No One
It might be easy to dismiss Gordon as a troll looking for trouble. But for LGBT shop owners and customers, the incident sounds all too familiar. And even though a cake-related case went all the way to the Supreme Court, there are still many unresolved legal questions.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the original cake case served up frustration on both sides, as LGBT advocates were obviously incensed at the loss, and religious freedom advocates were frustrated at the court’s very narrow ruling, which declined to answer critical questions – like whether or not religious businesses have a constitutional right to refuse service to LGBT customers.
The Supreme Court essentially punted on the issue, opting not to set a legal precedent.
Well, what do you think? Should religious businesses have the right to essentially discriminate against LGBT individuals? If so, should LGBT-owned cake shops also be able to refuse service to Christians who request homophobic cakes?
44 comments
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Robert Edward Szekely
I see this as an issue of ethics and integrity (or lack thereof) regarding those people who try to cloak their prejudices under religion. To say that a straight Christian baking a cake for gay couple is against their beliefs is at the very least a fabrication, and at the very worst, hypocrisy. Such individuals need to stand up and explicate exactly what belief they're violating by providing a service for pay or just come right out and admit that they're small-minded, small-hearted bigots.
Some say this is no big deal, even though it clearly echoes the separate facilities for blacks ("coloreds") in the first half of the last century, and the all-to-common at the time, "We don't serve your kind here." It's discrimination, whether its based on skin-color or sexual orientation. And it's still wrong. We all need to stand united against these hate groups, and let them know that we will not tolerate their intolerance, and that "we" are morally impelled to call them out when they purport to call themselves "Christians", as there is nothing Christ-like in this type of behavior. Otherwise, what exactly are we ministering? That it's OK to let the bigots live with their bigotry? Absolutely not, I say--ABSOLUTELY NOT!
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Richard Lee Cornell
He order a cake, but never pick it up. That means he has no right to anything. He did not pay for it. Cheap creep.
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Carla Ruth Robinson
A pity people like David Gordon believe in Hell, as he has certainly consigned himself to a long stay there.
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Rev Ned
David Gordon is what I call a “CINO”, Christian In Name Only. “Do as I say, not as I do.” Kinda like A LOT of politicians.
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Michael M Linder
This whole argument is headed in a dangerous direction. What if you had to tell the gas station where you were driving? Going to a gay bar tonight? We won’t sell you gas? Sound ridiculous? Of course. But so is the cake argument. Where in scripture says, “don’t bake for sinners?” Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely do not believe homosexuality is sinful. Love done with respect for your partner is part of God’s gift to us. But the evangelicals and others who do believe it to be a sin are entitled to their belief. But it should have some basis in some real religion. And when they enter the public marketplace, they should serve everyone who approaches them respectfully. I could probably side with the baker if he told the couple he would bake the cake, but he doesn’t sell two-groom cake toppers. They would need to get that elsewhere. That’s kind of a parallel with the decision of the lesbian couple with a bake shop. They made the cake but refused to decorate it with an ant-gay message. They baked him a delicious cake, and he could pick up some decorative icing at the grocery store, decorate the cake himself. When you open a business, stick to business.
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Connie J. Spicer
She clearly stated (and I assume it is posted) that they don't write on cakes that are ordered online. That is due to the issues confronted when people fail to pick up a custom item and it's already been created. That way, when the customer ARRIVES to pick it up, they can "do the writing then".
If he failed to show up to pick the cake up - the baker had the right, and the opportunity to re-sell the cake if she/they so preferred.
Makes good business sense to me.
I have made custom items in the past. I normally collected a deposit upfront for it though. That usually ensures a person is going to either "actually" pick it up, or they will lose money because they didn't pick up the item. The deposit could be as little as the cost of the item (I am a hand-engraver - so everything is custom) or 25%.
Makes me sad that so many folks are about judging others and not about common sense. To them I would reserve the right to serve or not and move along. If they wanted a lawsuit, I don't think they would have the right to do so.
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Dwight Hendricks
This is an old ploy to receive attention. It has been going on for years. I worked with a specialized bakery and they would receive rasist, homophobic, antisemitic, and white supremacy orders. They would come in waves, and to all the bakeries in the area. Then they would run to the media outlets crying. First they were put on the news, the numbers increased. Once the news dropped supporting them, they slowed down.
This is a sad attempt by a group of antichristian followers trying to make followers look bad, and push their agenda of hate.
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Bruce Renard Kendall
Mark 12:28-34
- And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
- Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
- And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
- And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
- And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
- Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
If we love God shouldn’t we love our neighbors in our thoughts and deeds?
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Lionheart
Harry Potter: Wisdom from Dumbledore.
We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.
Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.
Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.
It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
🦁❤️
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Karl Axel Lindström
I think it should not be allowed to deny service of provide inferior service for someone based on either sexual preference or religious affiliation. Though cake makers or other services should be allowed to omit messaging if they are up front about thing they do not allow.
I mean it would seam more then unreasonable for say a Jewish cake maker to be forced to write out "Hitler did nothing wrong" on a cake... so some limits make sense... as long as the are reasonable and the cake maker is up front about what they are ok with...
Like the customer should know when they place the order not like when they come to collect the cake. if they fail to inform the customer at that point then that is absolutely something I think they should be suable for because then it can be legitimate sabotage.
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Connie J. Spicer
Sometimes we just don't know how we feel about things until we are confronted by them. The bakers in this case obliged by baking the cake despite how personally offensive they found it to be. They upheld their own policy not to "write on the cake" because it was ordered online. Pretty simple, really. There was no refusal on the part of the baker.
The alleged customer failed to show - and then later started trying to get attention.
Can't have it both ways. They complied. He didn't. No show, no serve. He wasn't denied. He never came to pick it up.
Back when I was a kid, there was a wonderful bakery - they did the most beautiful cakes. Owned by a local family. I don't know if they were prejudiced, but I never heard of them denying anyone a cake... and when we came to get it, they did the writing, right there and then, in front of us - with OUR spelling. Because sometimes people spell things wrong. They also asked, just in case.
Got a cake once at a different bakery that said "Congurdedurtions". Huh? That wasn't how I spelled Congratulations on my paperwork. They did it before I arrived and sadly for me, I didn't look at the writing. Was I happy about it? No. Did I complain? Yep. And I never bought another cake from them. They didn't stay in business for long either.
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Ronaldo
I recall a time in the not-too-distant past where businesses actually posted signs stating that they have the right to refuse business from anyone. Today, if people of any minority group, whether it is race, or color, or gender choice, go into a business and start harassing other customers, or causing trouble of some kind, the business owner cannot kick them out without them playing some form of minority card. Perhaps it is time we went back to respecting the rights of the business owners. If a business, such as a bar, decided not to serve women, and posted that at their establishment, another bar that does serve women would probably open its doors down the street and take all that business. A lot of men who want to see women in bars would also go to that bar. America was founded on the idea of free enterprise, but now we have a political situation that disallows the freedom part of the enterprise. Obviously, no government agency, or any company or organization receiving government funding would be permitted to refuse valid clients, or make a determination as to who is valid based on some non-business-related bias. No employee of a company that wants freedom to choose clients would be permitted to refuse service unless the owner allows it. We cannot have bigoted or bias employees making such choices for their employers. A plan such as this may or may not work, but it may work well in the long run, and I think it would be a good social experiment. Once this behavior is considered legal for businesses to do, then if one gets trashed by a particular group that could have done business elsewhere, that would show bigotry and bias on the part of the attackers, not a valid request for some service.
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Amber Fry
The fact that the shop owner/manager just went ahead and baked it to avoid a legal battle just adds to the fact that we need to revamp the legal system. This is getting ridiculous when people can't just live their lives and believe their own beliefs without shoving those beliefs in everyone else's faces.
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Mark Shannon Parkhurst
Go some where else then, stop the silliness.
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Mark Shannon Parkhurst
In the beginning man and woman was created to procreate. Since we consider letting change in what people want we have drama. So we have a great deal of strife. Let these whom do what they do. Their going to do it anyway. Judging is not our last call, it belongs to our savior YHWH. Give them what they want.... See the hunger of meat in the wilderness, and the judgement that came afterwards while their mouths were filled. Transgression of the laws has it's outcome.
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Teresia Pederson
Rev.Teresia Pederson. I am very surprised and disgusted by reading all these vicious posts on here about the gay couples wedding cake. Instead of a unity formed between us clergy to compare notes and ask for advice, its just a vicious prejudice attack and bashing people who don't fit their beliefs. Its all hatred and aggressive talk. Reminds me of some movies I have seen where lynch mobs form and go out to do extensive harm or kill someone. It feels like a "'good o'le boys'" club down in the southern states getting together, drinking and play cards, then get violent. Disgusting.
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Lionheart
Ummm! It’s a cake 🎂 . Once digested it will look the same as any cake being digested. I never refuse cake 🍰.
🦁❤️
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Teresia Pederson
This really bothers me that a Christian Man who supposedly loves God, can do this.TRUE CHRISTIANS HAVE GOD IN THEIR HEARTS expressing love and compassion and would never be Judgemental of anyone.I feel that God is a loving God. He loves all his people and wants them to carry out his love.The ways of the world change and regardless how we feel about it, we have to be respectable and change with it.To accept and open our hearts, To put aside our person feelings to do GODS work and serve our community. If your going to have a business, You cannot be prejudice and prosper! Nothing prospers for the good with hate in their hearts. It just leads to out of control violence."Prejudice is an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race" That's what this man did and with actions such as this,That's when the starts. Fighting, killing, riots that target the blacks and the gays.This last explosion was caused by a hateful and racist cop beating up the black man and causing him to die. A loving father and great man who was loved by all. A senseless death. There is so much hate and aggression in this world and it stems way back in time, Its always been there Every so often we are forced to see it in many ways. It creeps up on us, and suddenly an Explosion of emotions, Growing up, my parents were not prejudice at all and always treated everyone good. I was not allowed to talk about others or make fun of people whom were disabled, poor, raggedy or whatever. I became a nurse helping God keep the Holy Spirit Alive and passing on his love and compassion. We cannot choose whom we fall in love with,and it shouldn't matter if its a same sex union. God is Love and I carry that in my heart.
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Mya-Lia Sharizyn
If they don't want to put foul messages on products they represent, that's a business decision. If they want to refuse service to people who are making obscene requests and turning them into demands, that have that right.
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Cynthia Jean Parker
I agree with you, is uncomfortable as it can be. I also truly believe that self-employed business owners should have the right to refuse service to anyone against their principles. I had an electronics business years ago and I actually refused business to a local man that I knew beat his wife and children. I had helped his wife get away from their dangerous relationship period when he called my company for an installation I suggested he try someone else that I was not likely going to be the best fit for his needs. He knew immediately what I was talking about and that was the end of it. I didn't do the job and after you squat the little bitty called someone else period after all why would you want someone to perform a service for you that does not believe in you let alone like you. It's just the end of it is all. I sympathize with the lgbtq community but I think that they push their agenda way too hard and instead lose sympathetic supporters rather than gain more period as far as the bigots, stays far away from them as possible.
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JKM
Ignorant bigots gonna bigot. Good on her for baking the cake.
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The Rev. William C, Millhouse
As the old saying goes: What's good for the goose is good for the gander. In other words they can't have it their way only.
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Cynthia Jean Parker
I agree with you, is uncomfortable as it can be. I also truly believe that self-employed business owners should have the right to refuse service to anyone against their principles. I had an electronics business years ago and I actually refused business to a local man that I knew beat his wife and children. I had helped his wife get away from their dangerous relationship period when he called my company for an installation I suggested he try someone else that I was not likely going to be the best fit for his needs. He knew immediately what I was talking about and that was the end of it. I didn't do the job and after you squat the little bitty called someone else period after all why would you want someone to perform a service for you that does not believe in you let alone like you. It's just the end of it is all. I sympathize with the lgbtq community but I think that they push their agenda way too hard and instead lose sympathetic supporters rather than gain more period as far as the bigots, stays far away from them as possible.
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David A Griffith
The LGBTQ+ community push their agenda way to hard? Seriously, compared to Christians? Wow.
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Carla Ruth Robinson
My thoughts exactly! At least LGBTQs don't threaten you with nonsensical eternal damnation. And seem to get a creepy thrill from threatening it.
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Diana Heineck
Yep, seems like people all want to "Have the cake and eat it, too." LMAO! I just couldn't help myself!
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Daniel Gray
if you can do this cake, then you can do a religious cake and as long as it does ot violate your religion you can do thi cake. easy peasy
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
It didn't have anything to do with God, you old fool! It had to do with a prejudiced mammy-jammy wanting them to bake him a cake!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I think if I was that Baker Is make the cake exactly to his specifications, but also poison it, and put a bomb in the middle, or atleast fill it with Ex-lax!!! I'm glad I'm not a gay Baker.
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Minister Mike
Life is good. There is no controversy here. Dude ordered (and, presumably paid for) a cake. Baker baked the cake. Dude didn't pick up his order. So what? 🤦♂️
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Master Wolf KSC
Doesn’t look like a controversial issue to me either.
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Elder Eugene E Andy Jr.
Everyone has a choice and whatever their decision is that is between the individual and God. So it be
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Dan Anderson
Is that not completely against the Christian ethics, taught by Jesus the Christ?
Of course, what this is happens to be hatred and attempt at instigating division.
In the case of the homosexual couple wanting a wedding cake, that cake was not for the purpose of instigating hatred but to celebrate the joining of two people who love each other.
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Teresia Pederson
Thank You. I agree wholeheartedly.That baker knew when he refused service there was going to be controversy with the community, I think he was hoping he could gain notoriety by causing this incident. And yes, he gained his point because a lot of people are talking about it. Personally I am a business person with excellent work ethics. As the owner, I want to be able to stand proudly, greet my customers with a smile and fill their orders even if it is a baby's smash cake or a Lady's 100th Birthday cake.. To know I made their day and they were happy, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME PROUD!
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Linda Maria
Catholics do what they want. You know that!
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Kirk England
The gay couple in the original case were bigots too. They knew ahead of time the answer was no. Same with the transgenders in the second case. My question, why didn’t any of the LGBT folks order a cake at a Muslim owned bakery? Friends in victim hood? The anti-gay dude In this case is a serious idiot, btw. Personally, I like money and would have baked all the cakes, as ordered.
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Br'er George
Now...Why they say Jesus don't like cake?
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Stephanie A Willey
"Anderson, not wanting to get embroiled in a lawsuit, ended up baking the cake. But she omitted the message in accordance with her shop’s long-standing policy of not writing messages on specialty cakes ordered online." She baked the cake, as it was ordered by the customer, subject only to the conditions she has set and has observed for ALL her customers. The customer who it turns out is a Troll, never even picked up the cake. The Troll says he's the victim. And he certainly is the victim .... of his own ignorance and prejudice.
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Katelynne Shouse
Make the cake, ala "The Help".........Enjoy bigots!!!
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Clay Serenbetz
In the Masterpiece Cake case, the Supreme Court ruled that a private business providing public accommodation may refuse service to anyone on religious grounds. This can work both ways. So a LGBTQ business may refuse service on religious grounds to anyone. Although, I personally unaware of any such religion. However, under the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, a place of public accommodation may NOT refuse service based on sex, color, race, national origin, disability or religion. States may pass additional laws that prohibit refusal of service on the basis of sexual orientation. You may refuse service to someone for any other reason, such as those who violates a dress code, fire code or otherwise disrupts a business, but such refusal is not arbitrary and applied equally to all. If you don't understand the difference between denying someone service because they are Muslim and denying someone service because their identity is contrary to your Christian beliefs, then you understand the Conservative legal mind better than I do. Also, I do not understand why anyone would seek to do business with someone who despises you. In my mind that is equivalent to rewarding a bully for beating you up. It defies logic. Go to a friendly establishment owned and operated by those who deserve your money.
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Ty Ford
Nah, Edwin. That doesn't cut it. Make the cake. Show them that their "right to refuse anyone service" is bogus. ::sigh:: REALLY?!?!?
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Edwin Merle Waltz
The stores right to refuse anyone service. Let them go somewhere that believes in gay marriages
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Teresia Pederson
You don't have to believe in Gay Marriages to bake a cake for someone so they can enjoy their special event.. You could of just made the cake and never thought anymore about it. You immediately judged these people as freaks, doodoo on your shoe. Your narrow minded and shallow and certainly cannot say your a Christian. A true Christian or man of God is accepting of all people and doesn't judge them for their beliefs. What if through this incident, suddenly you had no customers at all over your decision to not bake the care for the same sex couple who wanted believed in you and your talents of making gorgeous cakes, something they could be proud to show their friends and family members? This is horrendous.I feel sorry for you that your so closed minded and bias.
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Let them all eat cake! I am on a diet and I cannot have any! hahahahahaha