Christian Baker Gets Surprise Support in Massive Battle Over His Refusal to Make Gay Wedding Cake

LAKEWOOD, CO - January 13: Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake in Lakewood, decorates a birthday cake Thursday, January 3, 2012. (Photo by Lindsay Pierce, The Denver Post)
LAKEWOOD, CO - January 13: Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake in Lakewood, decorates a birthday cake Thursday, January 3, 2012. (Photo by Lindsay Pierce, The Denver Post)
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Contributor | Pure Flix

Two gay men recently showed up to an embattled Christian baker’s Colorado shop to publicly offer their support.

READ: Disturbing New Report From China Details Officials’ Latest Efforts to Stop ‘Ignorant’ Christians

The move might be seen as surprising to some, considering that Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, was punished after refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony. The baker’s controversial case has made its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where oral arguments will unfold on Dec. 5.

In a video posted to Facebook on Monday by Phillips’ attorneys, two men named TJ and Matt openly defended Phillips while standing outside of his bakery.

“We’re gay and we’re here to support Jack Phillips,” TJ said, with Matt adding, “We’re here to buy stuff from him, and support him, because we don’t think any artist should be forced to create for something that violates their beliefs.”

Their arguments appear to be predicated upon attorneys’ belief that Phillips and other business owners shouldn’t be forced to use artistic talents to convey messages or create items that they believe violate their consciences.

TJ and Matt Support Jack Phillips

"I'm TJ, and I'm Matt, we're gay and we're here to support Jack Phillips…to buy stuff from him, and support him because we don't think any artist should be forced to create for something that violates their beliefs." Do you support Jack Phillips and artistic freedom?

Posted by Alliance Defending Freedom on Monday, November 13, 2017

As Faithwire previously reported, the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case could have sweeping ramifications for both religious liberty and equal protection rights.

The controversial legal battle surrounds Phillips’ 2012 refusal of a same-sex wedding cake. Phillips, much like Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein and numerous other wedding venders across the U.S., has found himself in the crosshairs of the government as well as LGBTQ activists after declining to offer his services to a gay couple.

As a result, the baker has been locked in a tough, five-year legal battle with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The agency ruled that his cake refusal was in violation of anti-discrimination laws and punished him accordingly; he responded with appeals that made their way up to the nation’s high court (more on that here).

It’s important to note that the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Phillips case comes as uncertainty abounds surrounding the balance between First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights (i.e. religious freedom vs. equal protection under the law).

Meanwhile, many conservatives are lauding a lower court victory in a separate scenario that found that a printer in Kentucky was within his rights to refuse making T-shirts for a gay pride event.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals recently ruled 2-to-1 that Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands on Originals, a print shop based in Lexington, Kentucky, is correct in his argument that being forced to create the T-shirts was a violation of his religious beliefs, according to the Becket, a law firm devoted to the defense of religious liberty.

It’s unclear how Phillips’ case will shape up, but you can read an in-depth exploration of the case as well as a broad discussion about the balance between the First and Fourteenth Amendments here.