Thursday, March 28, 2024

California Baker Becomes Latest Target in Assault on Religious Freedom

It seems like ages ago now when supporters of same-sex marriage were trotting out the argument: “How will someone else’s marriage affect you?” In the time since Obergefell, however, we have unfortunately learned the answer.

While Colorado baker Jack Phillips awaits his day in court — the Supreme Court, to be specific — after being sued for declining to serve a same-sex wedding ceremony, further cases of religious Americans being harassed and intimidated over their beliefs on marriage continue to pile up.

The latest example comes out of California, where Cathy Miller, the owner of Tastries Bakery, is under fire for her refusal to violate her conscience in her workplace:

A California bakery owned by Christians has been forced to take down its website and social media accounts after a “bombardment” of criticism and a boycott followed their decision not to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding involving two lesbians.

[Miller] explained that she was not refusing to serve a certain sort of customer, but rather to patronize a certain sort of event that goes against her religious convictions as a Christian.

“A ceremony, when you’re getting married is in the eyes of the Lord, okay, and that’s a celebration of a union that God has brought together and that’s a whole lot different than coming in and wanting a cookie,” Miller explained.

[…]

For years, Tastries has been referring gay customers who want a wedding cake to a competitor called Gimmee Some Sugar, so they can receive the service they ask for.

“I’m really hurt by this. I don’t think we should be picked on because of our beliefs,” Miller said.

In the last two days, LGBT activists have loaded a barrage of negative reviews against the bakery on Yelp and TripAdvisor in an effort to tank the business.

Fortunately for Miller, the backlash has been limited to online harassment. As we’ve detailed in the past, however, other traditional marriage believers have been forced to close their businesses due to threats made against them by the “tolerant” activists of the Left.

Let’s hope that cooler heads — not to mention the First Amendment — prevail in this instance. While Americans of good will can, and certainly do, disagree over the nature of marriage, they ought to be allowed to live out their beliefs amongst each other peacefully. That is, after all, the point of religious freedom.

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