Tag Archives: public accommodations

PENNSYLVANIA: Anti-Gay Bridal Shop To Close Rather Than Comply With Impending LGBT Rights Ordinance

Christian News reports: The Christian owners of a bridal shop in Pennsylvania who have been receiving threats since declining to assist a lesbian with her wedding last July have decided to close their business due to fears of an impending ordinance that would require them to violate their faith, as well as the inability to market themselves in light of …

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Anti-Gay Oregon Bakers Appeal To State Supreme Court

Portland’s ABC affiliate reports: An appeal has been filed with the Oregon Supreme Court in hopes of overturning a $135,000 penalty given to the owners of a Gresham bakery who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries to penalize owners of Sweet …

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Civil Rights Group Issues “Funeral Home” Ad To Highlight LGBT Issues Before SCOTUS In Bakery Case

As we await the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, a sobering ad has been released in support of public accommodations rights for LGBT Americans. From the Movement Advancement Project: Inspired by a real legal case, Funeral Home, produced by MAP as part of the Open to All campaign, depicts a grieving widow who has just lost her …

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HAWAII: Appeals Court Rules Against B&B That Turned Away Lesbian Couple Because They “Defile The Land”

Hawaii News Now reports: Attorneys for California couple Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford are calling it a “great day for justice.” On Friday, Hawaii’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling that found a Hawaii Kai bed and breakfast was discriminatory for refusing the lesbian couple a room because of their sexual orientation. The women were represented by Lambda …

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Jimmy Kimmel Skit Hilariously Skewers Anti-Gay Bakers

From the clip description: A controversial decision came from a court in Kern County, California that ruled in favor of a bakery that refused to make a cake for a same sex wedding because the owner said it would violate her Christian faith. This isn’t the first instance of a bakery refusing to make a cake for a same sex …

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CALIFORNIA: Court Rules For Anti-Gay Baker

The Bakersfield Californian reports: Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe has ruled that owner Cathy Miller can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same sex couples. “The State cannot succeed on the facts presented as a matter of law. The right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment outweighs the State’s interest in ensuring a freely …

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Lambda Legal’s Appeal Of Mississippi Law Legalizing Anti-LGBT Discrimination By Businesses And Government Workers

Bloomberg reports: The U.S. Supreme Court left intact a Mississippi law that lets businesses and government workers refuse on religious grounds to provide services to gay and transgender people. The justices turned away two appeals by state residents and organizations that contended the measure violates the Constitution. A federal appeals court said the opponents hadn’t suffered any injury that would …

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OREGON: Appeals Court Upholds $135,000 Fine For Anti-Gay Bakery That Turned Away Couple In 2013

Portland’s NBC affiliate reports: The Oregon Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a ruling — and a $135,000 fine — that two Gresham bakery owners discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to make them a wedding cake, violating Oregon law. The courts did reverse a portion of the Bureau of Labor and Industries decision that said Melissa and Aaron Klein …

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CALIFORNIA: State Sues Anti-LGBT Bakery

Courthouse News reports: In an echo of the high-profile gay wedding cake case before the U.S. Supreme Court, California this week sued a Bakersfield bakery to stop it from discriminating against same-sex couples. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Wednesday filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order against Cathy’s Creations dba Tastries and its owner, …

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SPONSORED POST: 75 Organizations Join To Battle For LGBT Civil Rights As Supreme Court Hears Masterpiece

SPONSORED POST from Open To All: In the context of a nation rocked by racial discrimination at levels unseen in decades, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 5th in a case that could gut not only state nondiscrimination laws but also erode the Civil Rights Act—and turn back the clock to a time when businesses could tell …

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Transcript Released From Masterpiece Oral Arguments

This morning the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop Vs Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case which has the potential to upend decades of public accommodation laws that offer business discrimination protections to numerous classes of American citizens. As noted in my earlier posts about today’s proceedings, all eyes will be on Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose questions …

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WaPo: SCOTUS “Closely Divided” On Anti-Gay Baker

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court seemed closely divided Tuesday over whether the First Amendment protects a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy likely to cast the deciding vote. Kennedy, during a nearly hour-and-a-half oral argument, gave both sides reason for hope and concern. He worried that …

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LGBT Side Worried After Oral Arguments In Masterpiece

The Associated Press reports: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is suggesting skepticism of the arguments of a Colorado baker who defended his refusal to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple by citing the First Amendment’s free speech clause. During the first half of oral argument in the case Tuesday, the justices questioned Kristen K. Waggoner, an attorney for …

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LIVE VIDEO: Activists Speak Outside Supreme Court As Anti-Gay Colorado Baker Case Is About To Be Argued

The Washington Post reports: When is a wedding cake not just a cake, but a statement of profound religious beliefs? That’s the question being debated today at Supreme Court as it hears oral arguments about LGBT rights yet again. This fight is much different than the one settled two years ago in Obergefell v. Hodges, which declared that states cannot …

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Christian Group That Covered Up Sexual Assault Prays For God To “Anoint The Briefs” Of Anti-Gay Baker

Today’s prayer from the Family Research Council: May God preserve and protect the freedom of Christians and other Americans whose consciences say, “God made marriage between a man and a woman.” May He powerfully anoint the briefs and arguments presented to the Court on behalf of Jack Phillips. May He specifically intervene to guide each member of the Supreme Court …

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AUSTRALIA: 49% Say Businesses Should Have Right To Refuse Same-Sex Weddings On Religious Grounds

The Guardian reports: Almost half of Australians believe service providers should have the right to refuse same-sex weddings on the basis of their religious views, a poll has found. The Lonergan Research poll of 971 people found that 49% believed that service providers who refused same-sex weddings based on their religious views should be protected by law, compared with 35% …

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ARIZONA: Hate Group Loses Second Court Battle To Overturn Phoenix LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

The Arizona Republic reports: A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has quashed a local wedding shop’s attempt to override a Phoenix ordinance that protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination. Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio and self-described evangelical Christians, create invitations and other handmade artwork for weddings and events. They filed a …

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DOJ Petitions Supreme Court To Make Oral Arguments Against LGBT Rights During Colorado Baker Hearing

From the right wing Townhall: The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court Wednesday for permission to speak during December 5th oral arguments in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission which began when Colorado Christian baker Jack Phillips refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple’s wedding because he disagrees with same-sex marriage. “The United …

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SCOTUS Sets Anti-Gay Baker Case For December 5th

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: The U.S. Supreme Court has set Dec. 5 as the day for oral arguments on whether a Colorado baker has a First Amendment right to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples over religious objections. The high court announced Friday the case, known as Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, will be …

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BREAKING: Sessions Issues Long-Feared And Sweeping “License To Discriminate” Against LGBT Americans

The Associated Press reports: In an order that undercuts federal protections for LGBT people, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a sweeping directive to agencies Friday to do as much as possible to accommodate those who claim their religious freedoms are being violated. The guidance, an attempt to deliver on President Donald Trump’s pledge to his evangelical supporters that he would …

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