The website for Masterpiece Cakeshop says, “Jack Phillips creates a masterpiece. Custom designs are his specialty: If you can think it up, Jack can make it into a cake!”
Well, not quite. He can bake a cake. He can bake a wedding cake. He can design a wedding cake. But he won’t make a cake for a same-sex couple seeking to celebrate their marriage.
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., is a bakery located in a suburb of Denver. Jack Phillips is the owner and operator of the bakery. He is an expert baker. The bakery “offers a variety of baked goods,” including elaborate cakes that are custom-designed for special events, including weddings and birthday parties.
Jack Phillips is also a devout Christian. He seeks to “honor God through his work at Masterpiece Cakeshop.” One of his religious beliefs is that “God’s intention for marriage from the beginning of history is that it is and should be the union of one man and one woman.” For Phillips, creating a wedding cake for a same-sex couple would be the same as participating in a celebration that conflicts with those deeply held religious beliefs.
Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins planned on marrying in 2012, at a time when Colorado did not recognize same-sex marriage. They intended to legally marry in Massachusetts and then have a reception later in Colorado. They went to the Masterpiece Cakeshop to order a cake for their wedding from Phillips. Phillips told them “that he does not ‘create’ wedding cakes for same-sex weddings.” Phillips “explained that ‘I’ll make your birthday cakes, shower cakes, sell you cookies and brownies, I just don’t make cakes for same sex weddings.’”