Colorado

They’re Baaaaaack! Masterpiece Cakeshop Seeks New Right To Discriminate Against LGBTQ People

The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, the baker who violated Colorado nondiscrimination laws when he refused on to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, is in the national spotlight again. This time, he’s suing the state of Colorado alleging religious discrimination after it came to light that he has refused to bake a cake for a transgender woman.

A Theocratic ‘Powerhouse’ Is Gaining Influence In The Courts

Today’s Washington Post includes a profile of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), referring to the organization as a “powerhouse.” You may know the ADF as the group that takes on cases of businesses who want the legal right to use religion to discriminate.

The Ripple Effect Of The Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision

The US Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop opinion is having an immediate and wide-ranging impact. The Arizona Court of Appeals cited the Masterpiece opinion when it ruled against Brush & Nib Studio, one of several businesses around the country that, like Masterpiece, is trying to use religious beliefs to justify discrimination.

The Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop Ruling: What Really Happened

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights CommissionThe decision is a bit of an odd duck. The court repeatedly reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to combating discrimination against LGBTQ people in businesses open to the public. Yet the court holds in favor of a bakery that refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding.

New Poll Shows Americans Believe That Public Businesses Should Be Open To All

According to a new Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey, the majority of Americans oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people in the name of religion, and more Americans are welcoming of marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. 

Here Are The Top Ten Church-State Stories From 2017

There’s no denying that 2017 was a tough year for advocates of religious freedom and church-state separation. Yet despite the barrage of assaults from the Donald Trump-Mike Pence administration, Americans United saw important victories in and out of court.

We Hope The Supreme Court Rules That Businesses Should Be Open To All In Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Americans United staff members were outside with allies urging the higher court to say businesses should be #OpenToAll and that they should not be allowed to use religion to discriminate.

Join Americans United In Pledging That Religious Freedom Is About Fairness

As we approach the start of a new U.S. Supreme Court term that will include two cases with major church-state separation implications, you can show your support for religious freedom and AU’s work by pledging that “Religious Freedom Is About Fairness.”

Justice Department Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting Bakery That Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice told the Supreme Court that a Colorado bakery has a constitutional right to refuse to sell a cake to a same-sex couple for their wedding. You read that right—the Trump administration thinks there’s a constitutional right to discriminate.

A Colorado Case Gives The Supreme Court An Opportunity To Say That Businesses Can’t Use Religion As An Excuse To Discriminate

Monday was the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case in which the high court recognized the rights of same-sex couples to marry. The Supreme Court chose that anniversary to announce it will review Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commissionthe case of a Colorado baker who refused to provide a wedding cake to a same-sex couple.

Supreme Court Accepts Case That Could Have Major Consequences For Religious Freedom And LGBTQ Rights

The high court has agreed to hear Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission during its next term, which begins in October. The case deals with a bakery in Lakewood, Colorado, that refuses to make cakes for the weddings of LGBTQ couples, citing the owner’s religious beliefs as justification for the refusal.

Colorado’s Dangerous “Religious Freedom” Bill Dies

On Wednesday, a Colorado House committee voted to kill HB 1013, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Bill (RFRA) that was aimed at permitting businesses to use religion as an excuse to discriminate against people, particularly LGBTQ individuals and families. 

Most Small Business Owners In Colorado Oppose Laws That Use Religion To Trump LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Protections, New Poll Shows

In this tense political climate, bad news sometimes overshadows the good news, and today’s news is good. 

Invent Legal Claims. Sue. Repeat.

A website-design business wants to deny wedding website-design services to same-sex couples based on the owner’s religious beliefs. The catch? The company, 303 Creative, hasn’t even launched its wedding website-design services yet and so, obviously, no LGBT couples have even asked her company to design a website.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of The 2016 State Sessions, Part 1: The Good

Over the next two days, we will be reviewing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2016 state sessions. Today’s post will cover the good— harmful bills that were stopped.