Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Round 2

[Neo-Scholastic]

However if the people ask for a gay pride cake, with rainbow colors, etc then the Baker should make it...

The line/test for me is: would the baker refuse to bake the same cake if the use was not obvious…In other words, if a straight man requests a rainbow-colored cake with sprinkles, and the baker is fine with that request, it should not be denied just because a gay man requests the exact same cake for a gay pride party.

The trans cake is a great example btw. If all the person asked for was a blue cake with a pink center, it shouldn’t make a damn of difference whether it’s for a cisgender or transgender.

I know you were replying to C/L but please allow me to respond.

At first blush your test seems reasonable and your examples are appropriate. If someone merely specifies a pink cake with blue frosting, then personal identity is irrelevant. The problem with your test is that it ignores the importance of meaning. Symbolism is especially important for ritual objects - ranging from simple ones like birthday candles to those such as communion wafers which are richly endowed with meaning.

Context is important which is why I posted the picture of Marcel Duchamps “Fountain”. Perhaps this is a better example. Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick both knelt during football games. But the meaning of the identical gestures could not be more different because of location, end zone versus sidelines, and timing, following a touchdown as opposed to during the national anthem. When an artist knows the context in which his otherwise ambiguous art will be displayed the symbolism often becomes apparent. And when the significance of a symbol is known the artists efforts in manifesting that symbol require him or her to participate with the intended audience in a shared understanding of its significance.

So let’s expand on your first example. The first customer, who just so happens to be gay, tells the baker he wants a rainbow cake for a Noah’s Ark themed confirmation party. Later a second customer, who just so happens to be straight, comes into the shop at precisely the moment the first customer is picking up his cake. The second customer sees the rainbow cake and tells the baker that he wants the exact same design but for a gay-pride party. Same cake, different meanings. In my opinion, hiring a baker to knowingly design a symbolic object to be used in ritual activity of significant import is basically asking him or her to facilitate the expression of a specific the message. In my opinion, no artist, designer, writer, musician, architect or anyone engaging in any kind of creative activity should be compelled by force of law to produce symbols or express messages that conflict with their values, principles and convictions.

According to Philips, he would be willing to bake and decorate the first cake but not the second. Given his sincerely held convictions, I consider it right and proper for him to do so. If on the other hand, he refused service the first but not the second, then it would be clear that he was discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and would be acting illegally.