Colorado High Court Turns Down Gay Wedding Cake Case

The Colorado Supreme Court has refused to review the case of Jack Phillips, the baker who cited his religious beliefs for declining to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Last August, the state's Court of Appeals ruled that Phillips must make wedding cakes for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, or face fines.

Originally, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ordered Phillips to create wedding cakes for same-sex couples, re-educate his staff, and file quarterly compliance reports for two years. The order came after a gay couple filed a discrimination complaint against Phillips when he refused to make their wedding cake in 2012.

Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian non-profit legal firm that represents Phillips, said the baker is now weighing all his legal options.

"We asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take this case to ensure that government understands that its duty is to protect the people's freedom to follow their beliefs personally and professionally, not force them to violate those beliefs as the price of earning a living," ADF senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco said.

Phillips has said that he is happy to serve LGBT customers at his Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado. However, he refuses to create wedding cakes for them based on his Christian beliefs about marriage.