Masterpiece Cakeshop, Colorado Bakery, Agrees To 'Dog Wedding' Cake Despite Turning Away Gays

Bakery Agrees To Make Cake For 'Dog Wedding' Despite Turning Away Gay Couples

A Colorado bakery that refused to prepare a wedding cake for a gay couple is once again in the headlines after being exposed in another same-sex pair's experiment.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that Stephanie Schmalz opted to conduct the experiment when she was told that Masterpiece Cakeshop had a strict policy against selling cakes for same-sex weddings and commitment ceremonies. Schmalz had been seeking cupcakes for her forthcoming commitment ceremony to her partner Jeanine.

After being turned away, Schmalz called the bakery and told owner Jack Phillips that she was planning to host a wedding celebration for two dogs. She told him that the "dog wedding" cake should be decorated with the names "Roscoe" and "Buffy." Phillips then quoted her a price and asked how soon she needed it, according to the ACLU report.

Schmalz's experiment is similar to that conducted by an alternative weekly paper in Oregon at Sweet Cakes By Melissa, a Gresham, Ore. bakery whose owner Aaron Klein cited religious principles in his refusal to bake a cake for a lesbian couple's wedding. When a Willamette Week reporter requested cakes for a "pagan solstice party," as well as a divorce party and a party for a woman who'd had multiple children out of wedlock, a Sweet Cakes employee reportedly agreed to take the orders.

In 2012, Phillips told local CBS affilate KCNC-TV that he has no problem with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) customers or staff members, but nonetheless does not support gay marriage, when he refused to bake a cake for Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig.

Arguing that he who rather "close down the bakery" than "compromise our beliefs," Phillips said at the time, "If gays come in and want to order birthday cakes or any cakes for any occasion, graduations, or whatever, I have no prejudice against that whatsoever. It's just the wedding cake -- not the people, not their lifestyle."

The ACLU also points out that Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) concluded that Masterpiece Cakeshop broke the law by discriminating against Mullins and Craig, which prompted the Attorney General's office to file a formal complaint against the bakery this week.

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