WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters for both sides in the dispute over a wedding cake for a same-sex couple are rallying outside the Supreme Court.
Supporters of Colorado baker Jack Phillips were chanting, “We got Jack’s back.” People in support of the gay couple who were refused a cake countered with chants saying, “Love wins.”
It’s a colorful scene on the sidewalk in front of the court on a gray morning, shortly before the lawyers present argument to the justices in one of the year’s most anticipated cases.
The Supreme Court is taking up the highly anticipated case of the Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Tuesday’s clash at the high court pits baker Jack Phillips’ First Amendment claims of artistic freedom against the anti-discrimination arguments of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and two men Phillips turned away in 2012.
The commission ruled that Phillips violated the state’s anti-discrimination law when he refused to make a wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins.
The argument is the first involving gay rights since the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that states could not prevent same-sex couples from marrying.
The Trump administration is supporting Phillips in his argument that he can’t be forced to create a cake that violates his religious beliefs.
