A Colorado appeals court on Thursday ruled that a Denver-area baker cannot refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his religious belief.
The decision comes as religious conservatives opposed to gay marriage fight to carve out exemptions to same-sex marriage and antidiscrimination laws—especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
The Colorado Court of Appeals rejected the argument by lawyers for the cake-shop owner who argued that forcing him to create and sell a cake to a gay couple planning a wedding celebration violated his First Amendment rights.
The ruling is the latest to limit the rights of religious business owners involved in wedding services to turn away same-sex couples.
"There's a growing body of court decisions saying that while religion is central to what makes America America, religion can't be used as an excuse to discriminate," said James Esseks, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT project. The ACLU represented the couple in the case.
Religious conservatives said the ruling was a mistake. Lawyers for the bakery said they would consider appealing.
"Government has a duty to protect people's freedom to follow their beliefs personally and professionally rather than force them to adopt the government's views," said Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, who argued the Colorado case.
The dispute started in 2012, when Charlie Craig and David Mullins visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood and requested a cake to celebrate their planned wedding. The couple had plans to marry in Massachusetts but wanted to celebrate with their friends in Colorado, which at the time didn't permit same-sex marriages.
Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips declined the couple's request, telling them he didn't create wedding cakes for same-sex weddings because of his religious beliefs, according to the opinion, which said he advised the two men that he would be happy to sell them other baked goods.
"Phillips believes that decorating cakes is a form of art, that he can honor God through his artistic talents, and that he would displease God by creating cakes for same-sex marriages," the opinion said.
The couple then filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. After a commission judge ruled for the couple—a decision affirmed by the commission itself—Mr. Phillips took his case to the appellate court.
"Masterpiece does not convey a message supporting same-sex marriages merely by abiding by the law and serving its customers equally," the court said in its ruling Thursday.
Religious conservatives opposed to gay marriage have tried to soften their rhetoric about homosexuality and their approach to the LGBT community, while maintaining their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Some church leaders fear the Supreme Court ruling could result in discrimination against religious people, and have said they would continue to fight for exemptions for business owners and religiously affiliated organizations.
"What happens next is that states should respond with appropriate legislation that would prevent the government from penalizing or coercing anyone because they act on the belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman," said Roger Severino, the director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
But civil-liberties groups say continuing legal fights aren't indicative of a larger cultural battle.
"There's a small number of conflicts and the courts are resolving them the same way every time," the ACLU's Mr. Esseks said.
Gay couples have won similar cases in other states. In 2013, the highest court in New Mexico ruled that the owners of an Albuquerque wedding-photography company can't deny services to same-sex couples.
Earlier this summer, the Oregon labor commissioner ordered the owners of "Sweetcakes by Melissa" bakery to pay a lesbian couple $135,000 in damages "for emotional and mental suffering resulting from" its refusal to bake them a wedding cake.
Write to Jacob Gershman at jacob.gershman@wsj.com and Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com
Source: Court Rules Baker Can't Refuse to Make Wedding Cake for Gay Couple
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