California court sides with bakery because its "protected artistic expression"

[underpants]

A California bakery owner can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples because it violates her Christian beliefs, a judge ruled.

The decision came after a lawyer for Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield argued that owner Cathy Miller's right to free speech and free expression of religion trumps the argument that she violated a state anti-discrimination law.

Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe agreed but said Monday his ruling was tied closely to the fact that Miller was being asked to make a cake for an event and that the act of creating it was protected artistic expression.

Lampe cautioned that freedom of religion does not give businesses a right to refuse service to groups protected by the Unruh Civil Rights Act in other circumstances, the Bakersfield Californian reported.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article198654304.html

[guillaumeb]

1. Artisitic expression overrides legal rights to equal treatment?

Amazing display of judicial reasoning here.

[AlexSFCA]

2. its not as simple as it seems

I suspect SC will also rule in favor of the bakers. Honestly, I do not want an anti gay bakery to make a cake for me. I don’t want them to have my business. On the contrary, we will have a public list of anti lgbt wedding businesses so that even straight allies will avoid them like a plague. The market may help more than courts on this one. This will backfire and the number of anti lgbt businesses will remain small and less profitable.

[janterry]

3. I've teased this around in my head, too

And I sort of get it......but

I have worked with lots of people who were pretty difficult to like (ayran brotherhood, for instance, guys). Murderers. Wife-beaters. You know. (I have a MSW and have worked in the prisons).

In the end, I did my professional best to find some way of relating to everyone I have worked with. We might disagree on their hated of X group of people - and I'd just put it out there that I did, matter-of-factly. But we might also agree on their wanting to be clean and sober. That's hard. I could admire that about them. Or how hard it is to change. I get that. Change is hard.

Looking back at their history, we could find ways to understand the mistakes they made. I could empathize with that.

Making a cake is no harder than sitting with someone for - what amounts hours and hours - and finding a way to connect and support (and find!) what is good.

[AlexSFCA]

4. true

you were professional enough to overlook the views of your clientele. For some professions, refusing to serve a group of people may result in losing their license. There is no lack of bakeries and wedding busineses in general are a saturated market, the vast majority of them welcomes same sex couples. This is why I can see how SC can rule in favor of the baker even if I don’t agree with this in principle. If this happens, I hope the ruling would be very narrow to not set a precedent. I think we should not despair and feel lost if such a ruling to come out. I really beleive it woukd backfire and lgbt will eventually win in a public opinion arena that is more important. Straight allies will not use anti-lgbt wedding businesses. Those bakers will start serving gays or close their business.

If this happened to me, a bakery would refuse to serve, I would not be suing them but let it be known publicly. In fact, I would be pissed to find out after the fact that I ordered a cake from a bakery that donates to anti lgbt causes.

[Blue_true]

6. Anyone who does not get served quickly and courteously should walk out of a business and never go

back. The ultimate loss of business should cause the business to fail. I once saw a national franchise location that was slow to serve some people. It took me several turns to see the pattern, but when I did, I never went back. The franchise failed and closed. A franchise location that I saw served everyone the next town over thrives to this day. Most people, deep down are fair and don't like seeing people victimized for being something that they cannot change, that is why I think the bakery will fail, just like the Oregon one that tried the same thing did.

[Blue_true]

5. I totally agree. LGBTQ people should avoid doing business with such places, regardless of the

product. Allies of LGBTQ people should avoid those places and convince friends to avoid them. Lot them go bankrupt. They will not survive on the business of people that think and act like them.