Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips decorates a cake inside his store in Lakewood, Colo., on March 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File) DENVER (CN) — A Denver judge denied a Christian baker’s motion to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed against him after he refused to make a birthday cake commemorating a gender transition. Autumn Scardina, a transgender woman, first filed a complaint through the Colorado Civil Rights Commission against Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips in 2018 claiming gender discrimination after he refused to make the cake celebrating the anniversary of her transition. Since this was not his first course with the commission, Phillips sued the state for harassment in federal court. The commission previously sued Phillips in 2014 after he refused to make a same-sex couple’s wedding cake. Then, as now, he said his religious beliefs prevent him from creating something he doesn’t believe in. In a 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the commission’s finding — which had been upheld by an administrative law judge and the Colorado Court of Appeals . The justices found the commission had not treated Phillips with “neutral and respectful consideration,” and had made “official expressions of hostility to religion” in handling […]
