“We applaud the court for this decision. The freedom to practice one’s religion is enshrined in the First Amendment, and the United States Supreme Court has long upheld the freedom of artistic expression.”
Listen To The Article Below
c
athy Miller, a Christian baker from Bakersfield, California who declined to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple’s ceremony in 2017, won in court on Friday after years of litigation.
Miller, who owns Tastries Bakery, was represented by the Thomas More Society in the discrimination case. She cited her religious beliefs for the refusal to make the lesbian wedding cake.
Miller holds the Christian belief that marriage is a sacrosanct institution between one man and one woman. She directed the couple to another bakery that would fulfill their request, but was still met with a litany of lawsuits.
The latest lawsuit was brought against her on behalf of the couple by California’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment, which claimed she violated a 1959 state law called the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
According to Fox News, that law protects “consumers from discrimination by businesses on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion.”
Judge Eric Bradshaw of the Superior Court of California in Kern County did not accept that argument, and ruled in Miller’s favor.
Another one of Miller’s lawyers, Paul Jonna, said it was ironic “that a law intended to protect individuals from religious discrimination was used to discriminate against Cathy for her religious beliefs.”
Miller said in 2017: “Here at Tastries, we love everyone. My husband and I are Christians, and we know that God created everyone, and He created everyone equal, so it’s not that we don’t like people of certain groups, there is just certain things that violate my conscience.”
