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“I feel like I’m being harassed.” That’s according to Colorado baker Jack Phillips, in an interview on The Todd Starnes Show.
“The state of Colorado sued me twice and they lost both times and this attorney didn’t like the outcome of those two cases and has decided to sue me personally,” Phillips continued. “This time it’s for damages and it also includes legal fees, which if we lose, it would bankrupt us and put us completely out of business.”
The attorney personally suing Phillips is Autumn Scardina, a transgender individual who asked Phillips to make a cake to celebrate and reflect a gender transition. Phillips declined.
“He’d be happy to serve Autumn Scardina, but he can’t make a cake with a design that celebrates something that conflicts with is religious beliefs,” says attorney Jim Campbell of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the organization that’s been representing Phillips. “Jack’s now facing a lawsuit in his personal capacity that, unlike the lawsuit that the state brought, which only would have had a couple hundred dollars in fines, this lawsuit seeks to bankrupt jack.”
Phillips went on to say that his Masterpiece Cakeshop near Denver will serve everybody.
“We don’t make every cake that people ask us to make,” he added.
If you’re wondering what if any actions Phillips can take here to stop this harassment, you’re not alone.
“Jim, is there any recourse for Jack here?” asked Starnes. “This individual could just file lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit.”
“We will leave no stone unturned,” answered the attorney. “We just got this lawsuit a few days ago and so we’re evaluating every option to see if there is something we can do to make sure not only that we get this case taken care of, but we make sure that this doesn’t happen again in the future.”
Starnes dismissed any notion that this situation involving Autumn Scardina was coincidental, adding Autumn did not to go a Muslim bakery. Autumn went to a Christian bakery, not once, but twice.
“Nothing to be proud about LGBT community,” said Starnes. “You guys need to step up, those of you who oppose this kind of stuff, and I know you’re out there because many of you listen to this program. You have to speak out and condemn this kind of stuff. Don’t be complicit.”
Meanwhile, how did we even get here? Phillips won a case at the Supreme Court involving his refusal to design a same-sex wedding cake. That was a question for ADF attorney Jim Campbell.
“The Supreme Court looked at it and they found such blatant evidence of religious hostility that they didn’t need to go further and address what I would call the broader constitutional question, which is whether creative professionals like Jack and Barronelle Stutzman, who serve everyone, but don’t want to be forced to create custom art to celebrate events that conflict with their religious beliefs,” the attorney responded. “The Supreme Court said this is just so obviously religious hostility we’re just going to decide this case on that basis, (and) that’s why we’re continuing to deal with this because the broader question still needs to be decided.”