EVERYBODY deserves the right to an equal portion of human rights and today the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), are being served up the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
This is so much more than a case about a wedding cake and the fact that a gay couple was denied services by a baker, who disapproved of their same-sex marriage. This is about allowing people to discriminate and as LGBTQ activists and wedding photography professionals, my wife Laurie and I vehemently urge the SCOTUS to reject this.
For over a decade, we have photographed every type of wedding you could imagine gay, straight, bi-racial, bi-national, old, young and everyone ate cake. Just as everyone should. If my wife and I walk into any establishment anywhere, just like everyone else, why should we be denied service because of who we love? The answer is clear. We shouldn’t be!
“At its core, this case is a cynical effort to manipulate the First Amendment in order to provide a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people and our families,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Trump-Pence administration’s decision to back discrimination in this case is another attack in their all-out war against the LGBTQ community. At every turn, they have sought to undermine the civil rights of LGBTQ people. It’s crucial that the justices reject discrimination and stand on the side of fairness and equality.”
This is an extremely dangerous case, after all the work done to bring about nationwide marriage equality, here we are justifying why we shouldn’t be discriminated against, it is abhorrent. The United States is my chosen home, my wife and I had to overcome huge prejudice and fought for our right to have our marriage recognized, by taking a public stand. Our story went all the way to the judiciary committee in Washington, in support of the repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and now, here we are, fighting for our right to be served cake wherever we want to have cake.
The idea that this is about religious freedom is quite ridiculous, it is purely about discrimination. Take a recent story in Australia, where they have been arguing for marriage equality, a straight couple announced if marriage equality passed they would divorce. By doing that, as many religious freedom fighters choose to do, they are happy to go against God’s supposed will and divorce. It does not make sense.
If a decision is ruled in favor of discrimination, this would be a giant leap backwards, not just for LGBTQ but for all minorities. Allowing businesses to pick and choose who they serve does not sound like the America I love, the Land of the Free. Free to discriminate. When you look at these beautiful couple’s do you think some of them deserve to be denied cake? I don’t!