A Christian baker from Bakersfield, California, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case challenging a state law that would force her to create wedding cakes for same-sex couples, according to reports, the second such case to reach the high court in recent years.
Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery, is challenging the Civil Rights Department of California, which she accuses of “persecution” for refusing to make a custom wedding cake for the same-sex wedding of Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio in 2017, The Washington Times reported.
Miller referred the women to another nearby baker. However, the Civil Rights Department sued Miller in 2018, accusing her of violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act, a state ban on discrimination in business, according to the report.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled in 2022 that Miller acted lawfully while recognizing her beliefs about biblical teachings on marriage. However, an appeals court overturned the lower court’s ruling and the California Supreme Court in May declined to review the case.
Miller, who opened Tastries in 2013, has maintained that she would not create baked goods to celebrate same-sex weddings, divorces, violent content, pornographic images, drug use or witchcraft.
“My love for Jesus Christ calls me to serve others with joy and compassion, and Tastries has been my way of answering that call for over a decade,” Miller said in a statement, Newsweek reported. “I’m asking the Court to end California’s harassment once and for all. All I want is to serve my neighbors as the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls me to without being forced to create messages that violate my beliefs.”
The case closely mirrors that of Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker who also refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Phillips’ favor in 2018, saying the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated his religious rights under the First Amendment.
At least four of the nine Supreme Court justices have to vote in favor of hearing Miller’s dispute for oral arguments to be granted.
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