After $700K Fund-Raiser, Pence Skips Town Without Paying $24K Police Bill

Vice President Mike Pence

I recently reported that Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to attend a campaign fund-raiser at a gay-owned club in Colorado.

As if it wasn't enough that gay quislings were allowing their business to be used by the anti-LGBTQ politician, it seems Pence skipped out of town without paying the local police for the added security to the tune of $24,000.

From the Aspen Daily News:

The host has yet to step forward to pay the roughly $24,000 bill for increased security provided by local authorities — and the effect on taxpayers goes beyond Pitkin County, Sheriff Joe DiSalvo noted.

“We had a SWAT team from Garfield County here that I want to see get reimbursed. We had Carbondale officers here that I want to see get reimbursed. They don’t have this kind of money — I don’t have this kind of money,” DiSalvo said.

He estimated that Pence was in Aspen for less than 24 hours. During that time, the vice president headlined Monday’s $35,000-per-couple fundraiser at the Caribou Club and addressed the Republican Governors Association at its closed-door quarterly meeting at the St. Regis Aspen Resort on Tuesday morning. Pence did not speak to the general public.

“We had 64 total police officers on that assignment in the 20 or so hours that he was here, totaling 519 person hours,” DiSalvo said. “Out of those 64, 14 were state troopers, and we don’t have a responsibility to pay them. But the 50 other cops that were here are all on the county dime.

“I guess the whole thing is generally just somewhat disappointing to me,” DiSalvo continued. “You raise $700,000 in an hour, you should be able to pitch in to support the community that made you feel welcome.”

Colorado Becomes 18th State To Ban Conversion Therapy

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis

Governor Jared Polis - the country’s first openly gay governor - has signed two pieces of legislation into law that are vital to the health and safety of LGBTQ youth in Colorado.

HB19-1039 will allow transgender Coloradans to more easily update the gender on their birth certificate, enabling them to have the identification documents that match who they are. Coloradans will be able to update their gender on their birth certificate to M, F, or X — without a surgery, a doctor’s note, or court order.

Removing both the surgery requirement and court order requirement allows transgender people the ability to self-identify on their ID document. Colorado is the third state in the country (following California and Oregon) to have non-binary gender options for both driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

HB19-1129 will ban a state-licensed mental health care provider from engaging in the discredited, harmful practice of conversion therapy on a patient under 18 years of age. 

Conversion therapy is the discredited and dangerous practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

A physician or mental health care provider who violates this provision engages in unprofessional conduct under the applicable professional licensing board. Colorado will be the 18th state in the country to protect minors from conversion therapy.

The harmful practice is widely opposed by prominent professional medical associations including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A 2018 study found that the rate of attempted suicide by LGBTQ youth whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation was more than double the rate of LGBTQ youth who reported no such attempts. 

"The Trevor Project is proud to stand with One Colorado and all of the amazing lawmakers and advocates in the Centennial State as they become the 18th state in the country to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy,” said Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. 

“Watching the first openly LGBTQ governor in the nation sign this legislation is an especially humbling moment," he added. "Trevor will continue working across the nation until this horrible practice is relegated to the dustbin of history."

Congratulations Colorado for protecting LGBTQ youth from the discredited practice of #ConversionTherapy! 🎉

Learn more about the amazing work of our partners and advocates in Colorado: https://t.co/xvxgzJE81K

Let's protect LGBTQ youth across the US 🌟 Text TREVOR to 40649 📲 pic.twitter.com/RlR5bFoFeP

— The Trevor Project (@TrevorProject) May 31, 2019

News Round-Up: April 10, 2019

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Dan Tai gets up close to a mama elephant. If that's not enough elephant action for you, check this baby elephant pretending to be brave. #ElephantsRock

• Following an overall trend of increased hate crimes since Donald Trump took office, a Colorado transgender man was attacked on his own front porch for "acting gay."

• It's National Siblings Day, so here's a shout out to my brother, Gary, who I fought with throughout my childhood. But, as adults, we found common ground - wonder what that was...? #MoreWine

Happy Siblings Day to my big bro, Gary

• A gay guy wrote an essay titled, "Why Pete Buttigieg Is Bad For Gays," and he's wrong.

• Hollywood powerhouse producer/director Ryan Murphy announced he will make the hit Broadway musical The Prom (about a high school girl asking another girl to the prom) into a Netflix movie.

• Testifying before Congress today, Education Secretary Betsy Devos admitted she knew rolling back Obama-era guidance that protected trans students would lead to lower attendance and depression for those students.

.@RepBonamici: "Did you know when you rolled back the guidance that the stress of harassment and discrimination can lead to lower attendance and grades as well as depression for transgender students?"

Secretary @BetsyDeVosED: "I do know that." pic.twitter.com/nEMvk2sFUQ

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 10, 2019

News Round-Up: April 5, 2019

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Dan Tai (above) believes you should "go hard or go home." #legs #thighs #calves #everything #woof

• Colorado's state Assembly has approved HB 1129, which will protect LGBTQ youth from so-called 'conversion therapy.' Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected governor, will sign the bill into law. Colorado will become the 16th state plus the District of Columbia to prohibit the harmful practice.

• Failed politician and talk show host Mike Huckabee says LGBTQ people are the "greatest threat to the moral fiber of America."

• University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health scientists report in EBioMedicine that they’ve developed an all-in-one immunotherapy approach that not only kicks HIV out of hiding in the immune system, but also kills it.

• Donald Trump is celebrating the election of homophobe Brian Hagedorn to the Wisconsin state Supreme Court. Hagedorn infamously wrote some years ago that being gay leads to bestiality, and recognition of LGBTQ pride events creates a “hostile working environment” for Christians. But, Trump is thrilled with the news.

Congratulations to Brian Hagedorn on his big surprise win over a well funded Liberal Democrat in the Great State of Wisconsin for a very important Supreme Court seat. Republicans are producing big for Wisconsin!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 5, 2019

• LGBTQ ally Cyndi Lauper & YouTube Todrick Hall have been announced to perform at the opening ceremonies of New York Pride this year. Whoopi Goldberg will host the event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on 26 June.

• Click here if you want to hear former The View co-host moan and whine about being scolded by Barbra Walters back in 2006. It pretty much confirms what I always thought about the former reality show contestant.

• Out recording artist Gia Woods drops her latest single, "Keep On Coming," complete with a moody music video set in a shadowy bedroom.

Woods says the seductive song is about "Someone’s body that ‘keeps coming’ — meaning I’ve never met this person, but for some reason, I’m supposed to know them. I feel like somehow life relentlessly finds a way to make paths keep crossing. This is the realization whether or not you want to meet the person, it’s inevitable.”

Her breakout single, “Only A Girl,” has garnered over 10 million views on YouTube. I recently wrote about her track, "Jump The Fence," here.

Anti-LGBTQ Baker Agrees To A Ceasefire With Colorado Civil Rights Commission

Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop

Anti-LGBTQ baker Jack Phillips has agreed to call it a draw with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Phillips was brought up on charges by the commission for declining to make a pink and blue cake in 2017 celebrating a transgender woman’s transition.

Autumn Scardina, a Denver attorney, asked Phillips to make a blue and pink cake celebrating both her birthday and the anniversary of her transition.

The commission found, with probable cause, that Phillips had discriminated against Scardina due to her gender identity, a violation of the state’s public accommodation laws.

Phillips filed a counter-lawsuit against the commission alleging persecution for his Christian faith.

On Tuesday, Phillips’ attorneys and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser mutually agreed to drop both legal actions.

Weiser told the local CBS news affiliate that both sides “agreed it was not in anyone’s best interest to move forward with these cases.”

Regarding whether religious beliefs can trump public accommodation laws intended to protect LGBTs from discrimination in his state, Weiser said, “The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them.”

“Equal justice for all will continue to be a core value that we will uphold as we enforce our state’s and nation’s civil rights laws,” he added.

But attorneys for the anti-LGBTQ legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Phillips, claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” of hostility towards Phillips by the state.

The Denver Post reports Phillips issued a statement saying, “Today is a win for freedom.”

“I have and will always serve everyone who comes into my shop,” added Phillips. “I simply can’t celebrate events or express messages that conflict with my religious beliefs.”

Phillips famously waged a six-year battle with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission after turning away a gay couple seeking a cake to celebrate their marriage in 2012.

The fight went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where Phillips won in a narrow ruling saying the commission showed anti-religious bias in determining its sanctions on Phillips.

The issue of religious freedoms over LGBT civil rights was not resolved in that case.

The Denver Post notes that the agreement between Phillips and the CCRC does not preclude Scardina from moving ahead with any legal action of her own.

(h/t Denver Post, CBSDenver)

News Round-Up: January 9, 2019

Some news items you might have missed:

• I'm not sure if I should caption this photo (above) from InstaHunk Joel Green in Bali "Strike a pose" (Joel) or "What are you looking at?"(his scene partner).

• Just as Colorado has sworn in Jared Polis as the first openly gay governor of a state, the Denver city council voted unanimously on Monday to ban so-called 'conversion therapy' for minors.

• Actor Timothée Chalamet has added to his growing reputation as an LGBTQ fan favorite by giving $1,000 to New York’s LGBT Community Center live on the Golden Globes red carpet.

• Thanks to the Trump shutdown, the FDA has stopped most food safety inspections. Feel safer?

• The Coast Guard Support Program has issued a five-page tip sheet on how to financially cope with a long U.S. government shutdown. The suggestions include: consider holding a garage sale, babysitting, dog-walking or serving as a “mystery shopper.”

• North Carolina just lost more revenue thanks to its anti-LGBTQ laws. Netflix has nixed the idea of shooting a new series, titled OBX, in the state. The production is expected to spend $60 million in whatever state Netflix eventually chooses.

• It may be hump day, but chill a bit with the latest single from VanJess, "Another Lover."

I like the ebb and flow of the song, as well as the video's visual change-ups from choreography to minimalist trance vibe.

Colorado Could Elect The First Openly-Gay Governor In The U.S.

Colorado Democratic candidate for governor, Jared Polis

Less than one percent of elected officials in the United States are openly LGBTQ.

According to The Victory Institute, in terms of LGBTQ representation, we have:

• 1 governor
• 7 members of Congress
• 4 statewide elected officials
• 37 mayors
• 123 state lawmakers
• 306 local officials
• 95 judicial elected officials

That’s a total of 573 LGBTQ elected officials in the entire country which breaks down to 0.11% of all public offices.

With a record number of LGBTQ candidates running for office this year, that could change after this year’s midterm elections.

Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon is the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected to governor in the country. After succeeding John Kitzhaber upon his resignation in 2015, Brown, who’s openly bisexual, was elected to the office in 2016.

Brown is currently running for reelection this year, as are three more LGBTQ leaders (which end up ticking all of the LGBT boxes):

• Lupe Valdez, a lesbian woman running for governor in Texas
• Christine Hallquist, a transgender woman running for governor in Vermont
• Jared Polis, a gay man running for governor in Colorado

Of those four, the one poll in Vermont shows Hallquist trailing her opponent by 14 points, and Lupe trails her opponent by an average of 20 points.

Brown looks steady for reelection as she leads her opponent in Oregon by an average of 3.4 points.

And in Colorado, Polis could be poised to become the country’s first-ever gay man elected to a governor’s mansion. (In 2004, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey was closeted when elected but came out during his resignation speech).

According to RealClearPolitics, Polis leads his race by an average of 7 points.

Polis is one of the wealthiest members of Congress having made several fortunes as a tech entrepreneur. After taking his family’s greeting card company online, he also founded and sold ProFlowers.com for hundreds of millions of dollars.

With an estimated $300 million in personal wealth, Polis is funding much of his own campaign telling NBC News, “I’m beholden to no one except voters.”

So, if you’re in Colorado, make sure you vote for Jared Polis for governor.

And if you live in any of the 49 others states, make sure you get out and vote for our candidates as well!

You can find a list of LGBTQ candidates at The Victory Fund.

Democrat Jared Polis Could Become 1st Openly Gay Man Elected To Governor

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis

Last night, Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado came one step closer to becoming the first openly gay man to be elected governor in the United States.

Shortly after the polls closed, the Boulder native was declared the winner of the Democratic nomination for governor of Colorado with 44.7% of the vote. His nearest competitor, Cary Kennedy, garnered only 24.7% of the vote.

Come November, Polis will take on current Colorado State Treasurer Walker Stapleton in the governor's race. Current Gov. John Hickenlooper - who is term-limited.

A recent poll shows Polis leading Stapleton, a second cousin of George W. Bush and vocal supporter of Donald Trump, by 5 points.

One of the wealthiest members of Congress, Polis is said to be worth upwards of $400 million. In his 20s, he helped turn his family’s Blue Mountain Arts greeting card business into an e-card retailer eventually selling the business for $780 million.

Elected in 2008, Polis is one of seven openly gay members of the 113th Congress and caucuses with the LGBT Equality Caucus. He campaigned for governor on a platform of universal healthcare, free pre-K education and robust renewable energy.

Polis has a long-term partner, Marlon Reis. In 2011, Polis became the first openly gay parent in Congress when they welcomed a son, Caspian. They also have a daughter, Cora.

While former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey came out as gay during his time in office, Polis would be the first openly gay man to be elected to a governor’s mansion.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown became the first openly bisexual governor when she took office in 2015.

News Round-Up: July 5, 2017

Gus Kenworthy/Instagram

Some news items you may have missed:

• Woofy out Olympian Gus Kenworthy shares the above from his ESPN Magazine "Body Issue" shoot.

• NPR tweeted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, but Trump supporters (who didn't know what they were reading) took it to be "propaganda" against the Donald.

• Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler said transgender people serving in the military is as big a threat to national security as “North Korea, and Putin and ISIS.”

• The Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple told the ladies at The View, “I don’t believe that Jesus would have made the cake if he had been a baker.” Joy Behar's simple response: “Come on — Jesus would have made the cake.”

• A New York City man, indicted on hate crime charges, could face 15 years in prison for violently punching a lesbian on the subway as he shouted "dyke" and "faggots." The victim suffered a concussion, fractured nose, a broken eye socket and multiple deep cuts.

• According to a new Pew Research Center poll, more Americans (56%) trust German Chancellor Angela Merkel than they do Donald Trump (46%).

• MSNBC's Morning Joe had it's biggest ratings ever the day after Donald Trump tweeted about the co-hosts. #SoMuchWinning

• Bonus "Just because" from Lony Pizarro, fitness model. Photo: Anthony Deeying

A post shared by Lony Pizarro (@lonypizarro) on Jun 30, 2017 at 12:01pm PDT

Supreme Court Will Decide Colorado/Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case, Strikes Down Arkansas Birth Certificate Law

The Supreme Court decided today, on the second anniversary of the Obergefell ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land, that it will review and rule whether a Colorado baker must sell a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage.

Via The Advocate:

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which a baker named Jack Phillips told a same-sex couple — David Mullins and Charlie Craig, pictured above — that he could sell them brownies but not a cake for their wedding. Phillips contends he’s an artist and that the First Amendment protects his business from having to bake a cake for a wedding that he opposes.

LGBT rights supporters say his refusal amounts to discrimination against same-sex couples, and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission agreed, which is what sent the case all the way to the Supreme Court. A ruling could have far-reaching effects on the myriad of ways LGBT opponents are trying to undermine marriage equality by claiming religious exemptions. Bakers, florists, photographers and more have claimed their religious beliefs give them the right to deny service.

I think it's important to note that Colorado's anti-discrimination law specifically states that businesses open to the public may not deny service to customers based on their race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

It's the same as if the baker refused to make a cake for an African-American couple or a Jewish couple. It's illegal.

The high court will hear the case in October.

In related marriage equality news, SCOTUS also ruled that an Arkansas law intended to stop birth certificates from listing the names of both parents in a same-sex couple was unconstitutional and summarily struck down.

Also from The Advocate:

“The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision, we conclude, denied married same-sex couples access to the “constellation of benefits that the State has linked to marriage,” the justices wrote.

“As already explained, when a married woman in Arkansas conceives a child by means of artificial insemination, the State will — indeed, must — list the name of her male spouse on the child’s birth certificate.

And yet state law, as interpreted by the court below, allows Arkansas officials in those very same circumstances to omit a married woman’s female spouse from her child’s birth certificate.

As a result, same-sex parents in Arkansas lack the same right as opposite-sex parents to be listed on a child’s birth certificate, a document often used for important transactions like making medical decisions for a child or enrolling a child in school.”

It's telling that newly installed Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the dissent joined by Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

Colorado: Conservative Radio Host Steve Curtis Charged With Voter Fraud & Forgery

Conservative radio host Steve Curtis speaking to reporter

It turns out there WAS voter fraud in the 2016 election.

And it was committed by a Republican in Colorado.

From the Washington Post:

The 2016 election was just a month away when Steve Curtis, a conservative radio host and former Colorado Republican Party chairman, devoted an entire episode of his morning talk show to the heated topic of voter fraud.

“It seems to me,” Curtis said in the 42-minute segment, “that virtually every case of voter fraud I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats.”

On Tuesday, Colorado prosecutors threw a wrench into that already dubious theory, accusing Curtis of voter fraud for allegedly filling out and mailing in his ex-wife’s 2016 ballot for president, Denver’s Fox affiliate reported.

Curtis, 57, was charged in Weld County District Court with one count of misdemeanor voter fraud and one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, according to local media.

The case is the only voter fraud investigation related to the 2016 election that has resulted in criminal charges in the state, the Colorado secretary of state’s office told Denver’s ABC affiliate.

Curtis has not entered a plea. If convicted, he could face more than a year of prison time and a $5,000 fine. His attorney, Christopher Gregory, declined to comment on the case when reached by The Washington Post Tuesday night.

During his radio show about voter fraud, Curtis alleged there was “something about being a Democrat,” he said, that made people prone to criminal behavior. Kinda ironic now, huh?

Why is it always the ones who make the accusations that end up being the guilty ones?

Watch Curtis dodge questions from a reporter below:

Breaking: Former #Colorado Republican Chairman charged w/voter fraud. Wonder what @realDonaldTrump thinks? #kdvr investigates at 5. pic.twitter.com/XZmVijhCBY

— Rob Low (@RobLowTV) March 21, 2017

Clinton And Trump In Deadheat In Colorado & Pennsylvania

Now, THIS concerns me.

From CNN:

Just one point separates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in two states that are critical to both candidates' chances of becoming president, according to new CNN/ORC polls in Pennsylvania and Colorado.

In Colorado, likely voters break 42% for Trump, 41% for Clinton, 13% for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3% for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

Pennsylvania's likely voters split 45% for Clinton, 44% for Trump, 6% for Johnson and 3% for Stein. Those divides are well within each poll's 3.5-point margin of sampling error.

Colorado and Pennsylvania have been considered fairly solid for Clinton.

Super-stats guy Nate Silver has dropped Hillary's current chances to 52%:

And RealClearPolitics "No Toss Up" map shows Hillary winning the electoral college with only 272 votes. No one wanted to see this get this close.

Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Against Anti-Gay Masterpiece Cakeshop

The haters lose yet again as the Colorado Springs Supreme Court upheld an appellate court ruling that held the Masterpiece Cakeshop violated state public accommodation laws when the bakery refused to sell a same-sex couple a cake for a private wedding ceremony.

From the ACLU:

“The highest court in Colorado today affirmed that no one should be turned away from a public-facing business because of who they are or who they love,” said Ria Tabacco Mar, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT Project, who argued the case. “We all have a right to our personal beliefs, but we do not have a right to impose those beliefs on others and harm them. We hope today’s win will serve as a lesson for others that equality and fairness should be our guiding principles and that discrimination has no place at the table, or the bakery as the case may be.”

In 2012, Colorado residents David Mullins and Charlie Craig, along with Charlie’s mother Deborah Munn, visited Masterpiece Cakeshop to order a wedding cake. Mullins and Craig planned to marry in Massachusetts and then celebrate with family and friends back home. Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips informed the couple that, because of his religious beliefs, it was his standard business practice to refuse to provide cakes to customers for same-sex weddings. Phillips has turned away several other couples for the same reason.

Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits businesses, such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, from refusing service based on factors including race, sex, national origin, or sexual orientation. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado filed suit on behalf of Mullins and Craig in 2013. In December 2013, an administrative judge ruled that the bakery had illegally discriminated against the couple. In 2014, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission affirmed that ruling. Masterpiece Cakeshop appealed. In a unanimous decision issued on August 15, 2015, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the bakery unlawfully discriminated against David Mullins and Charlie Craig by refusing to sell them a cake for their wedding reception.

When businesses and other institutions that serve the public have sought exemptions to laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the courts have held that businesses are required to comply with anti-discrimination laws. The courts have ruled without regard to whether LGBT people could have obtained the goods or service elsewhere. Instead the courts have recognized the harm to equal opportunity if lesbian and gay people can be turned away from businesses otherwise open to the public because of who they are.

Colorado Shooter In Court: "I Am Guilty. There Will Be No Trial. I Am A Warrior For The Babies."

In case anyone had any doubt as to why the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooter went on his wild spree last week.

In a court appearance to determine formal charges, accused Planned Parenthood gunman Robert Dear reportedly announced his guilt–and strongly hinted at a motive. “I am guilty. There will be no trial. I am a warrior for the babies,” Dear reportedly exclaimed before the charges were read.

Reporter Rick Sallinger with our partners at KCNC left the courtroom early to report the outburst, which is how 11 News obtained this information. Our reporters remain in the courtroom, where phones and laptops are not allowed.

Sallinger also reports that that Dear is refusing to meet with attorney after Wednesday, and stated, “This is my life.” If convicted, Dear could face a minimum sentence of life on prison or a maximum sentence of death. The DA’s office has several weeks to decide whether to seek the death penalty or not.

Shooting In Colorado Springs Near Planned Parenthood

UPDATE:

BREAKING: Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting suspect now in custody, mayor says - @Clayton_Sandell

— ABC News (@ABC) November 28, 2015

Police officers injured in a shooting in Colorado Springs, local media report https://t.co/QsPCtPrGUj pic.twitter.com/A3i4tmnFkC

— CNN (@CNN) November 27, 2015

Man says sister inside Planned Parenthood clinic was hiding under table, could talk only briefly: https://t.co/57H9v2T3uq

— The Denver Post (@denverpost) November 27, 2015

The Latest: Witness says up to 20 shots fired near Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic: https://t.co/kx3Y7Ag1Nr

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 27, 2015

UPDATING: 3 police injured in shooting near Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood; situation is still active https://t.co/xHx49oh9PJ

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) November 27, 2015

After Two Losses In Court, Anti-Gay Colorado Baker Goes For Triple Crown

Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop

Not content to be a 2-time loser in court, Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker located in Lakewood, has decided to take his bigotry to the state Supreme Court after refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple which is in direct violation of the state's public accommodation laws.

On Aug. 13, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld two previous rulings and found that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips cannot cite his religious beliefs or free-speech rights in refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

In 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were turned away by Phillips while trying to buy a custom wedding cake. Mullins and Craig planned to marry in Massachusetts and wanted a cake to celebrate in Colorado.

Phillips told the couple that he would not make them a wedding cake because of his religious beliefs.

The petition, filed by Phillips' attorneys on Friday, asks the state's high court to decide whether Phillips' religious beliefs about marriage are being violated. They're also asking the justices to consider whether forcing Phillips to create an "artistic expression" that is against his religious beliefs violates his free speech rights.

"From Masterpiece's inception, he has integrated his faith and work," Phillips' attorneys wrote in the filing. "Phillips also honors God through his creative work by declining to use his artistic talents to design and create cakes that violate his religious beliefs."

Colorado law bans discrimination in a public place on grounds of sexual orientation.

To reiterate - same-sex marriage is not the problem here. A man refusing to serve people based on their sexual orientation, which is against the law in Colorado, is the issue.

Supporters Launch Crowdfunding Campaign For Anti-Gay Colorado Baker

Baker Jack Phillips refused to bake wedding cake for same-sex marriage

As we've seen in the past with other businesses who chose to not serve LGBTs, the friends of a Colorado baker have launched a crowd-funding campaign to help offset the penalties the baker has incurred by violating the state's public accommodation laws:

“Cake artist” Jack Phillips has said his bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, has lost more than a third of its receipts since he stopped making all wedding cakes while the case makes its way through the legal system.

“We hope it will relieve some of the financial pressure on Jack,” his brother-in-law, Jim Sander, said of the new fundraising effort in a phone interview Friday with The Daily Signal. “A business that has a 10 percent loss is a big deal in the Wall Street Journal. So a 40 percent loss is a big hit.”

Sander said the “crowdfunding” campaign, through the website Continue to Give, a Christian-oriented service, went online Thursday afternoon—hours after the Colorado Court of Appeals decided Phillips and his business must provide cakes for gay marriages. The mission: Financially support Phillips, 59, and “protect his freedom of speech and freedom of religion.” The goal: Raise $200,000.

At this writing, six percent (or about $12K) has been raised by the campaign.

Colorado Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Against Anti-Gay Baker

The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld an earlier ruling by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips violated the state's public accommodation law when he refused to sell a gay couple a wedding cake in 2012.

From ABC7 in Denver:

Phillips' attorneys asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling, arguing the decision violates Phillips' First Amendment rights. The attorneys argued he was not discriminating against same-sex couples, but rather refusing based on their intended conduct.

Court of Appeals justices, however, pointed out that same-sex couples are the only kind likely to engage in same-sex marriage.

"Masterpiece’s distinction, therefore, is one without a difference," Thursday's decision states. "But for their sexual orientation, Craig and Mullins would not have sought to enter into a same-sex marriage, and but for their intent to do so, Masterpiece would not have denied them its services."

At the time, Phillips said that while he'd be happy to make the couple brownies or a birthday cake, due to his deeply religious beliefs he could not make a wedding cake for a gay wedding.

Colorado Bakery Cleared Of Any Wrong Doing In Refusing To Make "Hate Cake"

The Azucar Bakery in Colorado has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Colorado Civil Rights Division for refusing to bake a cake with a hateful message.

LGBTQ Nation reports:

The state ruled that the cake shop had every right not to make the cakes on the grounds that the message on the cakes would be “derogatory.”

The complaint against Marjorie Silva, owner of Azucar Bakery, was filed by Castle Rock, Colo., resident Bill Jack, who claimed Silva discriminated against his religious beliefs when she refused to decorate a cake showing two groomsmen with a red “x” over them and messages about homosexuality being a sin.

Silva said she would make the cake, but declined to write his suggested messages on the cake, telling him she would give him icing and a pastry bag so he could write the words himself. Silva said the customer didn’t want that.

In its ruling, the state determined that because Silva would have responded to any other customer the same way, the bakery didn’t refuse service because of the customer’s religion.

Just another asshole trying to make a flawed point over the anti-gay bakers who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding celebration in a state where public accommodation laws include sexual orientation in their civil rights acts.

Colorado: State House Passes Bill Banning "Ex-Gay" Therapy

The state House of Colorado has passed legislation that would ban so-called "ex-gay" therapy for minors by a vote of 35 - 29.

One Republican, Rep. Daniel Thurlow of Grand Junction, joined all House Democrats in passing the bill.

The bill now moves to the Republican-controlled state Senate where passage could face a steeper climb.