A Case about Freedom -- Masterpiece Cake Shop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commissions
Our world is entering a new phrase, when the society welcomes and embraces all kinds of identities. In this great era, people can bravely express their personal opinions, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation without the fear of being punished or discriminated. In every sense, we are living in a more unprejudiced world. However, with the increasing diversity of the society, problems and conflicts ensue. Complications between races, cultures and religions seem to exacerbate. Moreover, followed by the legalization of the same sex marriage in the U.S, the relationships between the LGBT and religious groups become even thornier. The upcoming Supreme Court case, Masterpiece Cake Shop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commissions, is a textbook example of the power rivalry between the Christian and LGBT groups. This case is especially worthy of attention due to its involvement of issues like freedom of speech, anti-discrimination, and religious exemption. It, also, reveals the potential conflict between laws. By using John Mill’s On Liberty and other related documents, this essay aims to prove that it is unreasonable for the Colorado Commission to compel Phillips to make cake for gay couples, and it provides three reasons for that: First, form a legal perspective, Phillips’ right of free speech and expression is inalienable and protected by the first amendment of American constitution; Second, in a moral sense, neither the government nor the majority have the right to regulate a person’s beliefs, let alone to punish someone for what they believe; Third, the problem between the groups is far more complicated to be settled by a single act, CADC(Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act), and thus it is better to carefully examine both parties interests before compelling Phillips to change his shop policies. Before any further discussion of this complex issue, it is essential to understand the factual background of the case. According to the Brief of the Colorado Cilvil Rights Commission in Opposition, Jack Phillips is the owner and operator of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., a Colorado limited liability company, which “sells both pre-made and custom-baked goods to the public, including birthday cakes, cookies, brownies, and wedding cakes”(scotusblog.com). In 2012, Charlie Graig and David Mullins, a newly legally married couple (they married in Massachusetts), visited the Masterpiece Cake Shop to order a customised wedding cake in celebration of their marriage. Phillips turned their request down because of his Christian belief. The couple left the store before they initiate any discussion about the cake decoration, including words or the patterns written on the cake. Feeling being discriminated, Charlie and David then filed complaints to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Their complaints turned out to be a lawsuit, which was eventually decided in favor of the Colorado civil rights commission and the gay couple. As the aftermath, “The ALJ [Administrative Law Judge] ordered Phillips to (1) create wedding cakes celebrating same-sex marriages if he creates similar cakes for one-man-one-woman marriages, (2) retrain his staff to do likewise, and (3) report to the Commission every order he declines to fill for any reason for the next two years” according the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, (scotusblog.com). Phillips was unsatisfied with the verdict. He then appealed the case to the State court, where the state …show more content…
As Mill states in the On Liberty, “ Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough; there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feelings; against the tendency of society to impose by other means than civil penalties” (4). With the legalization of the same sex marriage, on one hand, people are celebrating this social progress. However, on the other hand, the liberal groups seem to have a higher expectation towards the public. They expect all people to accept and, if possible, to give well wishes to the same sex couple. This public expectation is really obvious in regions like New York, California, Massachusetts, Colorado and other “democratic” states. People in these regions seem to be especially sensitive towards opinions like “it’s not okay to be a gay”, and there seems to a tendency of correcting this so called “discriminative” views and re-educating those unsatisfying people, who is holding this
Our world is entering a new phrase, when the society welcomes and embraces all kinds of identities. In this great era, people can bravely express their personal opinions, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation without the fear of being punished or discriminated. In every sense, we are living in a more unprejudiced world. However, with the increasing diversity of the society, problems and conflicts ensue. Complications between races, cultures and religions seem to exacerbate. Moreover, followed by the legalization of the same sex marriage in the U.S, the relationships between the LGBT and religious groups become even thornier. The upcoming Supreme Court case, Masterpiece Cake Shop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commissions, is a textbook example of the power rivalry between the Christian and LGBT groups. This case is especially worthy of attention due to its involvement of issues like freedom of speech, anti-discrimination, and religious exemption. It, also, reveals the potential conflict between laws. By using John Mill’s On Liberty and other related documents, this essay aims to prove that it is unreasonable for the Colorado Commission to compel Phillips to make cake for gay couples, and it provides three reasons for that: First, form a legal perspective, Phillips’ right of free speech and expression is inalienable and protected by the first amendment of American constitution; Second, in a moral sense, neither the government nor the majority have the right to regulate a person’s beliefs, let alone to punish someone for what they believe; Third, the problem between the groups is far more complicated to be settled by a single act, CADC(Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act), and thus it is better to carefully examine both parties interests before compelling Phillips to change his shop policies. Before any further discussion of this complex issue, it is essential to understand the factual background of the case. According to the Brief of the Colorado Cilvil Rights Commission in Opposition, Jack Phillips is the owner and operator of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., a Colorado limited liability company, which “sells both pre-made and custom-baked goods to the public, including birthday cakes, cookies, brownies, and wedding cakes”(scotusblog.com). In 2012, Charlie Graig and David Mullins, a newly legally married couple (they married in Massachusetts), visited the Masterpiece Cake Shop to order a customised wedding cake in celebration of their marriage. Phillips turned their request down because of his Christian belief. The couple left the store before they initiate any discussion about the cake decoration, including words or the patterns written on the cake. Feeling being discriminated, Charlie and David then filed complaints to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Their complaints turned out to be a lawsuit, which was eventually decided in favor of the Colorado civil rights commission and the gay couple. As the aftermath, “The ALJ [Administrative Law Judge] ordered Phillips to (1) create wedding cakes celebrating same-sex marriages if he creates similar cakes for one-man-one-woman marriages, (2) retrain his staff to do likewise, and (3) report to the Commission every order he declines to fill for any reason for the next two years” according the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, (scotusblog.com). Phillips was unsatisfied with the verdict. He then appealed the case to the State court, where the state …show more content…
As Mill states in the On Liberty, “ Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough; there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feelings; against the tendency of society to impose by other means than civil penalties” (4). With the legalization of the same sex marriage, on one hand, people are celebrating this social progress. However, on the other hand, the liberal groups seem to have a higher expectation towards the public. They expect all people to accept and, if possible, to give well wishes to the same sex couple. This public expectation is really obvious in regions like New York, California, Massachusetts, Colorado and other “democratic” states. People in these regions seem to be especially sensitive towards opinions like “it’s not okay to be a gay”, and there seems to a tendency of correcting this so called “discriminative” views and re-educating those unsatisfying people, who is holding this