SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Baker Who Denied Gay Couple Wedding Cake

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to craft a wedding cake in 2012 for a gay couple in a 7-2 decision. Justice Kennedy—who was joined in the majority by Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Breyer in part—wrote that the “reason and motive for the baker’s refusal were based on his sincere religious beliefs and convictions” and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was being “inconsistent” with the “obligation of religious neutrality” from the state. Kennedy also wrote that such “disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market.” The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Ginsburg and joined by Justice Sotomayor, underscored that Masterpiece Cakeshop refused to sell to the gay couple “for no reason other than their sexual orientation, a cake of the kind he regularly sold to others.”