SCOTUS ruled in Masterpiece Cakeshop case: Pagans react

TWH –As was reported Monday, justices of the Supreme Court of the United States ruled this week in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. et al. v Colorado Civil Rights Commission, et al., in which a baker asserted he had the right to refuse to bake a same-sex wedding cake due to his religious beliefs. In the majority seven-to-two opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote that “the government has no role in expressing or even suggesting whether the religious ground for [baker Jack] Phillips’ conscience-based objection is legitimate or illegitimate,” and that “religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression.” The law, justices found, must be applied more neutrally with respect to religion.

Pagan Community Notes: Masterpiece Cake ruling, Phyllis Curott honored, OBOD changes hands, and more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court of the United States delivered their opinion Monday, June 4 on the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. Justice Kennedy delivered that opinion, which holds that the “Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s actions in assessing a cake shop owner’s reasons for declining to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding celebration violated the free exercise clause.” This overturned previous court rulings. The vote was seven to two, with justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor filing a dissenting opinion. The ruling suggests that the commission did not uphold neutrality when dealing with the baker’s conscious-based objections, stating there was a notable bias expressed against the baker’s religious beliefs.