A gay couple is pursuing a discrimination complaint against a Colorado bakery alleging the business refused them a wedding cake to honor their Massachusetts ceremony.
David Mullins, 28, and Charlie Craig, 33, claim that the owners of the Masterpiece Cakeshop have a history of turning down gay couples for their business. Two other couples signed affidavits saying the cake shop denied them services as well.
There are only 12 states that allow gay marriage.
"Religious freedom is a fundamental right in America and it's something that we champion at the ACLU," told Mark Silverstein, the legal director of the group in Colorado, which filed the complaint on behalf of the couple, to the New York Daily News. "We are all entitled to our religious beliefs and we fight for that. But someone's personal religious beliefs don't justify breaking the law by discriminating against others in the public sphere."
According to reports, Mullins and Craig were upset after owner Jack Phillips refused to make a cake for them when he found out it was to celebrate their Massachusetts wedding in Colorado. Phillips allegedly told the couple that making their wedding cake would violate his Christian religious beliefs.
"We were all very upset, but I was angry and I felt dehumanized and mortified," Mullins told the New York Daily News. "We felt that the best way to honor the support that they had given us was to follow this complaint through."
The complaint filed against Masterpiece Cakeshop asks to "cease and desist" the practice of refusing wedding cakes for gay couples, and let it be known that they are open to serving everyone.
Nicole Martin, attorney for shop owner Phillips, disagrees with the order.
"It would force [Phillips] to choose between his conscience and a paycheck. I just think that's an intolerable choice," Martin told the New York Daily News.
