A California court has ruled in favor of free speech in the case of a Christian bakery owner who refused to create a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.
Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, CA, was approached back in 2017 to bake a cake for Eileen Del Rio and her fiancé. Miller offered to refer the business to a competing bakery, and even offered a pre-made cake instead of an original creation, citing her Christian beliefs. Miller felt using her talents to create a work of art for a “celebration of a union” was simply a bridge too far when it came to her faith.
“A ceremony, when you’re getting married is in the eyes of the Lord, OK, and that’s a celebration of a union that God has brought together and that’s a whole lot different then coming in and wanting a cookie,” Miller told KGET.
California’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment promptly launched a lawsuit against the Bakersfield baker.
California’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment subsequently filed legal action against Miller’s business under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, an expansive 1959 state law aimed at protecting consumers from discrimination by businesses on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion.
After a years long battle, Miller has finally received justice. On Friday, the Superior Court of California in Kern County ruled against the legal suit. Miller’s lawyer, Paul Jonna (Thomas More Society) called the ruling a bit of an “irony” considering “a law intended to protect individuals from religious discrimination was used to discriminate against Cathy for her religious beliefs.”
At one point, lawyers for the government went so far as to question the sincerity of the bakery owner’s faith, which makes that “irony” even more delicious for the constitutional confectionist.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member