Anti-gay US baker Jack Phillips sues after rejecting trans customer
Alliance Defending Freedom client Jack Phillips talks with journalists in front of the Supreme Court after the court heard the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission December 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Colorado baker Jack Phillips, whose refusal to make a cake for a gay couple went to the Supreme Court, is suing his state’s civil rights commission after he rejected a trans customer.
Phillips has filed a lawsuit against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (CCRC), after it ruled that he had discriminated against trans customer Autumn Scardina, reports CBS’ local affiliate.
Scardina asked Phillips to bake her a cake to celebrate her birthday and the first anniversary of her gender transition.
US baker Jack Phillips accuses Colorado of not respecting his religious views
Appearing in court earlier this week, Phillips’ attorneys argued that the state of Colorado did not respect his religious beliefs and that he had been treated with hostility.
“At this point, he’s just a guy who is trying to get back to life.”
—Jim Campbell, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom
Phillips is being represented by conservative Christian lobbying group Alliance Defencing Freedom, which previously supported him in a lawsuit at the US Supreme Court over his refusal to bake a cake for a gay couple in 2016.
Jack Phillips appearing on The View in 2017. (The View)
“At this point, he’s just a guy who is trying to get back to life,” Jim Campbell, an attorney for the Christian non-profit law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, told ABC.
“The problem is the state of Colorado won’t let him.”
In August, Scardina complained to the CCRC, alleging that she had been discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity, reports ThinkProgress.
“The woman on the phone,” she wrote in the filing, “did not object to my request for a birthday cake until I told her I was celebrating my transition from male to female.
“I believe that other people who request birthday cakes get to select the colour and theme of the cake.”
Phillips, meanwhile, filed a countersuit, writing that he does not want to “promote the idea that a person’s sex is anything other than an immutable God-given biological reality.”
US Supreme Court previously rules in favour of US baker Jack Phillips
In June, the US Supreme Court found that the state of Colorado violated “religious freedom” protections by ruling that Phillips’ Masterpiece Cakeshop had discriminated against gay couple David Mullins and Charlie Craig.
The court ruled 7-2 in favour of Masterpiece Cakeshop, in a decision which was heavily criticised by LGBT+ campaigners.
