Monday, January 26, 2015

GAY MARRIAGE - Businesses That Refuse Services

"Why some wedding businesses say ‘I don’t’ to gay couples" PBS NewsHour 1/21/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In Colorado, a baker’s decision to turn a gay couple away rather than make them a wedding cake has sparked a civil rights legal battle.  In fact, as the number of states allowing same-sex marriages increases, so too has the number of business owners refusing to provide wedding services for religious reasons.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  Colorado baker Jack Phillips estimates he’s made 5,000 wedding cakes since he opened his shop, Masterpiece Cakes, 20 years ago.

JACK PHILLIPS, Owner, Masterpiece Cakeshop:  I just like everything about the baking business.  With a wedding, I get to know the bride, I get to know the groom, if I can, you know, as much of the personalities and things that I can.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  And while his portfolio of wedding cakes is vast, there’s one cake the baker refuses to bake.  Phillips will not make a cake for a same-sex marriage.

JACK PHILLIPS:  It’s a cake that I just don’t do because of my Christian faith.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  A deeply religious man, Jack Phillips says he will bake birthday cakes, cupcakes, and a variety of other sweets for same-sex couples, not just a wedding cake.

JACK PHILLIPS:  I actually feel like I’m taking part in the wedding.  Part of me goes to the reception.  And in this case, that part of me doesn’t want to be represented in a ceremony that I believe is unbiblical.

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