Court: Baker who refused gay wedding cake can't cite beliefs

DENVER (AP) — A suburban Denver baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple cannot cite his Christian beliefs in refusing them service because it would lead to discrimination, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The three-judge panel said in a 66-page ruling that Colorado's anti-discrimination law does not prevent baker Jack Phillips from believing what he wants but that if he wants his business open to the public, he is prohibited "from picking and choosing customers based on their sexual orientation."

Gay rights supporters and religious freedom advocates have passionately debated whether individuals can cite their beliefs as a basis for declining to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony.

The baker has maintained that he has no problem serving gay people at his store but says that making a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding would violate his religious views.

The court said Colorado's anti-discrimination law does not force Phillips to support a particular view, but "merely prohibits Masterpiece from discriminating against potential customers on account of their sexual orientation."