Jack Philips, a Christian baker, denied preparing a wedding cake for a gay couple in the year 2012 after which his life turned upside down, though his faith stood firm. Confronted with this decision, the gay couple took offense, which was followed by swearing as they stormed out of his shop. Death threats and criticisms followed and Jack Philips was found guilty by law for not accommodating Charlie Craig and David Mullins, the gay couple who were denied his service. Ria Mar, a staff attorney representing Mullins and Craig, stated that no American should be turned down for their nature or their private life.
On examining the event, it was made clear that the baker did not hate or condemn the homosexuals, as he had offered them other cakes and products from his shop. He had stated that he would offer them other products, but not a wedding cake, as he did not want to partake in an event that would go against his religious principles. Although the scenario questioned a man’s freedom to follow his faith, The Colorado Court of Appeals stated that the bakers act was against the law, as he discriminated two gay men. The law states that such services cannot be denied to customers based on sexual orientation, and Jack Philips has done just that. The court claimed that the baker does not own the right to execute his religious principles or free-speech rights in such circumstances.
Though Jack Philips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, was criticized by many people, there were many Christians who supported his act. Surprisingly, Jack Philips received support from numerous gay people who felt that he had the right to hold a belief system of his choice. He said he had received calls from members of gay community, offering to support his decision.
After this catastrophic event, a decision was made. The Christian baker stopped making cakes for any sort of weddings. According to him, the court’s ruling wasn’t fair as it robbed him of his rights and gave others more rights than him. After his choice of not selling any more wedding cakes, Philips’s business registered a loss of 40%. He stated that for a shop such as his, the loss is particularly important, since he also lost employees in the process. Though he wishes to continue his business with baking wedding cakes, he will not proceed further, until the government stops involving in his decision makings.
Through the entire ordeal, his family stood by his side and assisted him as he took this step to not partake in a same-sex wedding. His sister and mother helped him out, since the insufficient employees he had would only work for a limited number of hours. Jack Philips states that his family has been a strong support, since it is a matter of faith and obedience to God. The shop had to undergo many amendments to survive his decision of not extending his service to a gay couple.
