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Colorado and Baker From LGBTQ Cake Dispute Agree to Drop Lawsuits

More than six years of legal battles between Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop and the state will end after baker Jack Phillips agreed to drop his lawsuit alleging the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was harassing him for refusing to make LGBTQ-themed cakes.

By Elise Schmelzer

More than six years of legal battles between Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop and the state will end after baker Jack Phillips agreed to drop his lawsuit alleging the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was harassing him for refusing to make LGBTQ-themed cakes, in exchange for the commission halting its own actions against him.

"After careful consideration of the facts, both sides agreed it was not in anyone's best interest to move forward with these cases," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a news release Tuesday announcing the agreement. "The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them."

The agreement marks the end of legal proceedings between Colorado and Phillips, who has said he cannot make such cakes because it would violate his Christian beliefs. Phillips has battled the state Civil Rights Commission in two separate cases, arguing in each that his right to freedom of speech and religion protect his decision to not bake cakes with LGBTQ themes.

The Civil Rights Commission unanimously voted to approve the agreement between the two sides Tuesday morning, said Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for Weiser. The attorney general's office represents the commission and the director of the Colorado Civil Rights Division, who also was named in Phillips's lawsuit.

"Throughout these proceedings, the parties have been looking for ways to resolve the issue," Pacheco said.

Despite the drawn-out legal back-and-forth, Phillips' policy regarding what cakes he will and will not bake has not changed. When reached by phone Tuesday, Phillips said he could not immediately comment and referred a reporter to his attorneys. In a statement, the baker said he still won't make cakes that don't align with his faith.

"I have and will always serve everyone who comes into my shop; I simply can't celebrate events or express messages that conflict with my religious beliefs," he said.

Phillips said his shop lost 40 percent of its business because of the legal proceedings and publicity.

"Today is a win for freedom," he said. "I'm very grateful and looking forward to serving my customers as I always have: with love and respect."

The agreement was a victory for Phillips because the state stopped its proceedings against him -- which was always the ultimate goal of the lawsuit, said Jim Campbell, one of the attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom representing Phillips.

"He's looking forward to getting back to life without the state prosecuting him," Campbell said.

Both sides filed a joint notice in the federal court case Tuesday stating that Phillips' attorneys planned to dismiss the suit after the commission's decision to dismiss its proceedings against the baker. Each side will bear the costs of their own attorneys' fees.

Phillips' entanglement with the Civil Rights Commission began in 2012 after he refused to make a cake celebrating the marriage of two gay men. The ACLU of Colorado filed a complaint against Phillips on behalf of the couple and an administrative judge ruled that the baker discriminated against the couple for their sexual orientation.

Phillips appealed the ruling and the case rose to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in June that some members of the Civil Rights Commission exhibited hostility toward religious beliefs and did not act as a neutral ruling body. The court's ruling did not address the underlying conflicts of balancing rights to freedom of speech and religion and the duty to protect from discrimination.

The same day as the Supreme Court ruling, a transgender woman called the Lakewood shop to request a cake celebrating the anniversary of her gender transition. When cake shop staff refused to do so, the woman, Autumn Scardina, filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Commission, which again found probable cause that the shop violated state law in the incident.

Phillips sued the commission and other state officials in August, claiming that the commission had a "crusade" against him and that the state was harassing him. Phillips's attorneys also said they found new examples of how the commission was biased against religious beliefs.

One Colorado, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, said Tuesday that the agreement does not affect how the state's anti-discrimination law protects people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

"The fact remains that Colorado has a civil rights division and anti-discrimination laws that equally protect the fundamental rights of all Coloradans. Businesses may decide what products or services they offer, but they do not get to pick and choose who they offer those products or services to," executive director Daniel Ramos said in the statement.

Despite the agreement, Scardina still has the option to file her own lawsuit against Phillips, said Pacheco, the attorney general's spokesman.

(c)2019 The Denver Post

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