The Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused on religious grounds to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple six years ago, a case pitting gay rights against religious freedom and freedom of speech.
In one of the most highly anticipated cases of the term, the justices voted 7-2 that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the rights of baker Jack Phillips under the First Amendment’s clause on the free exercise of religion when it ordered him to design the cake.
In a statement to the media, Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht, presidium chairman of the Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim (an organization of 950 Orthodox rabbis) said, “Since its inception in 1942, the RAA/Igud has consistently championed the protection of our first amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religious choices. Today’s decision, rendered by the highest court in the land, clearly demonstrates that our constitutional rights have not been quashed in favor of political correctness.” He added: “In this historic decision, religious choice and religious conviction have been preserved and honored by the distinguished jurists of the Supreme Court, whom we wholeheartedly applaud. Everyone who cherishes religious liberty and the freedom of religious expression should take pause at this moment to thank G-d for the multitudinous rights conferred upon us in this great nation.”