Days after baker wins in Supreme Court against state commission on freedom of religion, same commission tries again!
If you follow national legal matters you may recall the case of the gay men who--as far as the media has told you--sued Christian baker Jack Phillips for refusing to bake a custom cake for their wedding. The baker claimed being forced to bake a cake for a gay couple violated his first-amendment rights.
Lower courts, then appellate courts, ruled against Phillips, but he took his appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. That court agreed with him.
Now the details--cuz the make a big difference if you're a target: The same-sex couple didn't actually sue Phillips. Instead they whined to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission--funded by taxpayers, thus immune to ordinary financial considerations. The commission immediately agreed with them, and slapped a huge punitive fine on the baker.
The existence of a taxpayer-funded commission to punish bakers on behalf of a complainant is a huge distinction, because if a state sets up and funds a commission like that, it has essentially unlimited resources. Moreover, complainants don't have to pay for an attorney. Wheee!
And of course, guess who The Powers pick to staff "civil rights" commissions: gays and lesbians. So the conclusions are pretty much known beforehand.
Interestingly, the Colorado legislature didn't want that to be the case, so the enabling legislation specifically stated that the commission was to operate on a presumption of innocence. But to the surprise of no one, the commission actually operates on a presumption of guilty as charged.
But as you might guess, commission shitheads hate being told "NO"--even by the U.S. Supreme Court. And sure enough, they're going after Christian baker Jack Phillips again--this time because he declined to bake a cake celebrating transgenderism.
The same day the Supreme Court agreed to hear Phillips’ case, a lawyer called Phillips' bakery requesting a birthday cake, explaining that the occasion was to celebrate the seventh anniversary of her gender transition.
Phillips declined, saying he could not, in good conscience, bake a cake celebrating changing one's gender. He offered to sell the lawyer a pre-designed cake. At which point the lawyer — Autumn Scardina — filed a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Two months ago — and just 24 days after the Supreme Court ruled in Phillips’ favor on the complaint by the same-sex couple— the commission moved against Phillips again, again claiming he'd violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.
Last week the Alliance for Defending Freedom, which has represented Phillips since the cake debacle began more than six years ago, filed suit in federal court claiming the commission is once again violating Phillips’ First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion. The suit claims the commission, and specifically director Aubrey Elenis, is targeting Phillips unfairly because of his Christian worldview.
It does seem a unusual that the commission--having been slapped down on the issue by no less an authority than the Supreme Court--would take another swing at the same man on the same grounds, but if you've ever crossed swords with a bureaucrat, you know that if you manage to get a ruling against them, they have a tendency to get very huffy and authoritarian, and they start nicking you for grass one inch too tall, or no permit to build a dog house, or a wheelchair ramp, or a million other things.
This needs to be slapped down, and fast. And the commission members--particularly head whiner Audrey Elenis--should all be fired.
Lower courts, then appellate courts, ruled against Phillips, but he took his appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. That court agreed with him.
Now the details--cuz the make a big difference if you're a target: The same-sex couple didn't actually sue Phillips. Instead they whined to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission--funded by taxpayers, thus immune to ordinary financial considerations. The commission immediately agreed with them, and slapped a huge punitive fine on the baker.
The existence of a taxpayer-funded commission to punish bakers on behalf of a complainant is a huge distinction, because if a state sets up and funds a commission like that, it has essentially unlimited resources. Moreover, complainants don't have to pay for an attorney. Wheee!
And of course, guess who The Powers pick to staff "civil rights" commissions: gays and lesbians. So the conclusions are pretty much known beforehand.
Interestingly, the Colorado legislature didn't want that to be the case, so the enabling legislation specifically stated that the commission was to operate on a presumption of innocence. But to the surprise of no one, the commission actually operates on a presumption of guilty as charged.
But as you might guess, commission shitheads hate being told "NO"--even by the U.S. Supreme Court. And sure enough, they're going after Christian baker Jack Phillips again--this time because he declined to bake a cake celebrating transgenderism.
The same day the Supreme Court agreed to hear Phillips’ case, a lawyer called Phillips' bakery requesting a birthday cake, explaining that the occasion was to celebrate the seventh anniversary of her gender transition.
Phillips declined, saying he could not, in good conscience, bake a cake celebrating changing one's gender. He offered to sell the lawyer a pre-designed cake. At which point the lawyer — Autumn Scardina — filed a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Two months ago — and just 24 days after the Supreme Court ruled in Phillips’ favor on the complaint by the same-sex couple— the commission moved against Phillips again, again claiming he'd violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.
Last week the Alliance for Defending Freedom, which has represented Phillips since the cake debacle began more than six years ago, filed suit in federal court claiming the commission is once again violating Phillips’ First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion. The suit claims the commission, and specifically director Aubrey Elenis, is targeting Phillips unfairly because of his Christian worldview.
It does seem a unusual that the commission--having been slapped down on the issue by no less an authority than the Supreme Court--would take another swing at the same man on the same grounds, but if you've ever crossed swords with a bureaucrat, you know that if you manage to get a ruling against them, they have a tendency to get very huffy and authoritarian, and they start nicking you for grass one inch too tall, or no permit to build a dog house, or a wheelchair ramp, or a million other things.
This needs to be slapped down, and fast. And the commission members--particularly head whiner Audrey Elenis--should all be fired.
posted by SF at
2:43 PM
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