The Political Insider

It might just be time for Colorado baker Jack Phillips to file some lawsuits of his own, over harassment.

The name Jack Phillips may sound familiar. He is the Colorado baker who, back in 2012, refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding based on his Christian beliefs. 

That case went all the way to the Supreme Court where Phillips won a partial victory.

Now, he has a new fight, challenging a ruling which says he violated Colorado’s anti-discrimination law because he would not bake a cake to celebrate a “gender transition.”

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Winding Through The Court System

Jack Phillips’ latest headache began back in 2017.

Autumn Scardina called Phillip’s bakery and asked for a birthday cake to celebrate her gender transition. When the case went to trial last year, Phillips testified that he did not believe that someone could change genders, and would not celebrate “somebody who thinks that they can.”

Phillips’ attorney Jack Warner argued in court that demanding Phillips to bake a cake with a message that went against his Christian beliefs was in effect forcing him to say something he did not believe. A clear-cut violation of his First Amendment rights, Warner says. 

John McHugh, attorney for Autumn Scardina, argues that Scardina was not demanding that Phillips endorse her gender transition, but merely sell her a cake. McHugh continued, arguing that Phillips selling a cake to a customer can’t depend on what the customer tells him about the event the cake is for.

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Trying To Make A Point

Several of Scardina’s actions are a bit questionable, and might be argued that it was nothing more than to try to make a point. Scardina made the initial call to Masterpiece Cake Shop in 2017 on the anniversary of the Supreme Court announcing they would hear Phillips’ appeal in the wedding cake case. She said that she “wanted to find out if he really meant it.”

Seems clear that, from her actions, the case has nothing to do with buying a cake and everything to do with targeting this specific baker.

During the trial, Scardina’s attorney asked if her phone call to the cake shop was some sort of “set up.” She claimed it was not and described it this way: “It was more of calling someone’s bluff.”

Autumn Scardina is also an attorney, and is described by NBC News as an “activist.” That may explain why she simply cannot leave Jack Phillips alone, and has filed several complaints against him all stemming from his refusal to create a gender transition cake for her.

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Christian Businesses Feeling Heat Not A New Thing

In 2015, Christian-owned Memories Pizza in the small town of Walkerton, Indiana became nationally known when then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” into law.

While it was intended to protect the religious freedom of Hoosiers, opponents argued that it would allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Local media went looking for reaction to the law and found it at Memories Pizza.

Co-owner Crystal O’Connor stated to the local ABC affiliate that “If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no.” At the time, Memories Pizza had not denied anyone service, but they received threatening phone calls just the same.

In 2017, another Christian-owned business in Kentucky, T-shirt printing business Hand On Originals, was sued when they refused to print T-shirts for a gay pride event. Hand On Originals won their case on appeal.

As the woke mob gets more brazen, Jack Phillips may have company from other Christian business owners.