A Colorado baker that found herself ensnared in controversy after refusing to prepare cakes decorated with anti-gay messages can now breathe deeply.
The Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled that Marjorie Silva, owner of Denver's Azucar Bakery, did not discriminate against William Jack when she refused to prep two bible-shaped cakes with anti-gay imagery and phrases like "God hates gays" written in icing, ABC 7 News Denver is reporting.
The decision noted that Silva is Catholic, and her refusal to complete the customer's requests was based on "derogatory language and imagery" rather than their religious nature.
Silva told the news station that the case had "been a roller coaster," but that she was "thankful" for the support from other customers.
"We were not [just] morally right but also legally right," she said.
At the time of Jack's request in 2014, Silva reportedly told the customer that she would make him the cakes, but offered to provide him with icing and a pastry bag so he could decorate the desserts with the images he wanted. After she refused to decorate the cakes herself, however, Silva was slapped with a religious discrimination complaint.
Bakeries, florists and other wedding-related venues have become a surprising battleground for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights as of late. Last week, former televangelist Joshua Feuerstein went after Florida's Cut The Cake bakery after owner Sharon Haller refused to put the words "We do not support gay marriage" on a cake.
On the flip side, Colorado's Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips vowed in 2014 to stop preparing wedding cakes entirely after a local court ruled he'd discriminated against a pair of gay grooms-to-be when he refused to sell them a cake, citing his Christian beliefs.
"When I do a cake, I feel like I'm participating in the ceremony or the event or the celebration that the cake is for," he is quoted at saying.
Before You Go
