A Colorado bakery has been found not guilty of discrimination after refusing to bake cakes that denounced homosexuality.
Azucar Bakery in Denver was exonerated by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Regulatory Agencies after a year-long dispute over their right to refuse the order from Christian activist Bill Jack.
Bakery owner Marjorie Silva said Jack wanted the cakes to read "God hates gays," and refused to comply. However, Jack insisted he wanted a biblical, not hateful, message.
"I requested two cakes each in the shape of an open Bible," he told the Christian Post in February 2015. "On the first cake I requested on one page, 'God hates sin – Psalm 45:7,' and on the facing page, 'Homosexuality is a detestable sin – Leviticus 18:22.'
"On the second cake I requested on one page, 'God loves sinners,' and on the facing page, 'While we were yet sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5:8,' he continued.
"I also requested a decoration of two groomsmen holding hands with a cross in the background with a ghostbusters symbol over it to illustrate that such a union is unacceptable biblically."
Jack placed the cake orders in response to a decision by the same Civil Rights Division against a Christian baker in 2012.
Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado was sued after he refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, and the agency found him guilty of discrimination.
The baker said he would sell the gay couple desserts, birthday cakes, and other goods, but would not provide a wedding cake for them. Phillips said his Christian beliefs would not allow him to participate in the celebration of a same-sex ceremony.
Jack insisted that the decision against him is hypocritical in light of the Phillips case, and plans to file an appeal.
