Reaction to High Court’s cake shop ruling draws mixed reaction in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case is drawing mixed responses from Utah’s religious and political leaders.

In the 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed anti-religious bias when it ruled against baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop for refusing to bake a cake for the 2012 wedding celebration of a recently married same-sex couple.

The commission, the majority opinion reads, "showed elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs motivating (Phillips') objection."

The court’s decision was limited and did not, however, provide a precedent for similar cases. Justice Anthony Kennedy said the issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to refuse services "must await further elaboration" in the courts.

He also said the bigger issue "must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market."

Following the ruling, some celebrated the decision, seeing it as a win for religious liberty, or as protecting both religious freedom and the rights of LGBT communities, while others balked and saw the ruling as a loss for the LGBT community.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement of support. Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said the church “welcomes today’s Supreme Court decision. The nation’s laws can protect both religious liberty and the rights of LGBT citizens. That is the meaning of fairness for all.”

Related:

Supreme Court narrowly rules on controversial Colorado cake case

The Supreme Court ruled Monday for a Colorado baker who wouldn't make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in a limited decision that leaves for another day the larger issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to refuse service to gay and lesbian people.

The Sutherland Institute, a Salt Lake City-based conservative think tank, also issued a supportive response. Bill Duncan, director of the institute’s Center for Family and Society, wrote a statement saying, in part:

"Combined with past Court decisions upholding the dignity of those in the LGBT community, today’s ruling reminds us that equality applies to all Americans, not just the favored few, and we must protect those with firmly held religious beliefs, members of the LGBTQ community, and all citizens alike.”

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch also commented on the decision, writing, “I applaud today’s decision. Hostility toward religion has no place in government. At the same time, religious freedom means much more than freedom from government hostility. Courts must protect the ability of believers to freely live their faith and to express their religious beliefs openly and honestly.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said she was “disappointed and surprised” by the ruling but “also relieved that the Court was extremely narrow in their decision focusing on particular actions in the Colorado case and avoiding any negative precedent.”

In the written statement, Biskupski also said Salt Lake City was one of 103 cities that filed an Amicus brief in favor of the couple represented in the case, and added that the city will continue to "participate in litigation" in cases that "(endanger) the equal rights of any people in our community."

Her statement continued, “everyone should know, that if you do business in our city, you do business with everyone.”

Salt Lake City Councilman Derek Kitchen was also surprised by the court’s ruling, calling it a “punch in the gut to Utah’s LGBT community and to all Utahns who care about fairness and justice.”

Kitchen, who was a plaintiff in a major court case fighting to make same-sex marriage legal in Utah, continued, “This decision allows any Bubba to invoke his religious views, and then use that as the legal basis to discriminate in a public business. This flawed ruling will surely bring about more discrimination, not less.”

Equality Utah, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group, took a more measured tone in its response.

"Although the Court ruled in favor of the cake shop, the Court affirmed that 'gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated … as inferior in dignity and worth,' and that religious objections 'do not allow business owners and other actors in the economy and in society to deny protected persons equal access to goods and services,'" the group's statement reads.

The statement also mentions the "concerns unique to the case," citing the ruling's conclusion that the Colorado Commission on Civil Rights showed "'hostility' by calling the baker's religious beliefs 'despicable.'"

Executive director Troy Williams added, “Although our country is increasingly divided, we continue to believe that Utahns are people of kindness and goodwill. This decision does not turn back the clock on equality, we will continue to advocate for the equal treatment of LGBTQ people.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

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