Tag Archives: Masterpiece Cakeshop

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SCOTUS 2020-21 Term Preview

Posted on October 2, 2020 by David E Smith
The U.S. Supreme Court fall term begins this month, and, as of now, it does not appear to be as action-packed for religious liberty as this past term. However, at least one important case is in the hopper, and several are in the pipeline.  And, of course, all is overshadowed by the presumed replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
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Klein v. Oregon: Religious Liberty & Freedom of Speech vs. Gay Rights

Posted on July 9, 2019 by David E Smith
Among recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court, a four-sentence order may set the stage for the court to eventually address the collision between free speech and religious freedom on one hand and gay rights on the other. The order voided a judgment by the state of Oregon that had imposed a $135,000 fine on Portland-area bakery owners—the Kleins—for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Oregon maintained that its anti-discrimination law condemned such a rebuff even when the bakery owners’ religious convictions run counter to participating in a same-sex wedding.
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders & Family Kicked Out of Restaurant

Posted on June 23, 2018 by David E Smith

On Friday night, Stephanie Wilkinson, owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, kicked out Sarah Huckabee Sanders and seven members of her family because Sanders works for the president. “Progressives”–once again demonstrating their inability to think analogically–believe this ill-treatment of Sanders and her family is analogous to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.

Once more for the obtuse among us, Jack Phillips didn’t refuse to serve homosexuals or kick them out of his bakery. He refused to create and sell a product for a type of event that violates his deeply held religious convictions. He served homosexuals regularly. The …

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The Way Back to Religious Liberty

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Benjamin D. Smith
In early January, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) overturned a longstanding policy that forbade churches from getting federal disaster relief money. The rule change by the Trump Administration affected any houses of worship that were damaged on or after August 23, just before...
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Religious Freedom Cases Stacking Up

Posted on October 3, 2017 by David E Smith
Court cases across the country continue to point to the big showdown coming soon at the U.S. Supreme Court.In the ongoing legal battles over religious freedom, there are advances and setback. One win happened last month. When Amy Larson, a Christian photographer in Wisconsin who declines to photograph so-called same-sex weddings, saw what was happening to similar photographers across the country, she was concerned that her decision would violate local and state law. So, she decided she wasn’t going to shoot any weddings.But she also decided to challenge a local ordinance and the state law. And she won! But…
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12 Recent Cases Where Christians Were Punished for Their Beliefs on Marriage

Posted on December 19, 2016 by David E Smith
The Family Research Council has compiled a reporting listing 12 cases this past decade in America where Christian business owners have been punished or threatened with punishment for holding traditional beliefs about marriage in order to comply with anti-discrimination laws regarding gay people.
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Gov’t Seeking to Impose ‘New Belief System’ on Client

Posted on January 10, 2014 by David E Smith

A Colorado baker who declined to bake a cake for a same-gender “wedding” is fighting through an appeal to make sure his constitutionally protected freedoms – as well those of others – aren’t taken away.

In the summer of 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division after cake artist Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop refused to endorse their marriage ceremony because of his faith. Last month the Colorado Administrative Law Court ruled Phillips must provide the cakes for homosexuals and prove that he has complied with the court order. Alliance Defending Freedom…

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Strong, Informed Pastors Help Christians Live Faith Publicly

Posted on August 30, 2013 by David E Smith

Pastors, your church needs you to be engaged—fully engaged—in the issues people are facing every day. Maybe you are not personally facing these issues, but they might be. If congregants come to you for help and advice and all you say is, “Sorry to hear about this,” then you’ve failed them.

Elaine Hugenin, owner of Elane Photography, chose not to photograph a same-sex ceremony. Her religious convictions prevent her from using her talents to celebrate same-sex unions. When she declined to photograph the ceremony, the same-sex couple, ignoring Elaine’s right to freely exercise her faith, brought a case …

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