The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to announce whether or not it will hear a case with that bears a clear resemblance to the “gay cake” debacle.
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Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop, recently won the landmark legal battle against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, a Christian who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding.
In this latest case, SCOTUS is being asked to examine a dispute between a flower company and a gay couple, Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed. Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, declined to make a floral arrangement for Ingersoll and Freed’s wedding in 2013 due to her religious beliefs. She was subsequently told by the Washington Supreme Court that she had violated state civil rights law through allegedly refusing service on account of a couple’s sexual orientation.
Stutzman went on to appeal the state court’s ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States almost a year ago. Her case was then discussed during the justices’ private conference in November, according to the Washington Examiner.
Stutzman’s attorneys are requesting that the Washington Supreme Court decision be thrown out immediately and the case be referred to the Supreme Court in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling.
“That would allow the state courts to consider the evidence of government hostility toward the faith of Barronelle Stutzman,” lawyers for Stutzman submitted in their court filings.
Lawyers for Ingersoll and Freed disagree, and have urged the Supreme Court to reject a hearing of the case.
“We strongly disagree there’s evidence of religious bias,” said Elizabeth Gill, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU, who is representing the couple.
The Supreme Court is expected to announce whether or not it will hear Stutzman’s case as soon as Monday.
(H/T: Washington Examiner)