#Tolerance: Small Colorado biz gets death threats after refusal to make “gay” wedding cake

Another day, another profile in left wing “tolerance”:

LAKEWOOD, Colo. β€” A Lakewood gay couple may end up having a masterpiece of a wedding, but they won’t have a β€œMasterpiece” cake to go along with it.

Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, told the couple they have their sexual orientation to thank for that. It’s an event that occurred on the afternoon of July 19, and it’s sparkingΒ national attention, aΒ petitionΒ and aΒ boycottΒ of the local bakery.

Phillips said it has also spiked a boom in his business, which he said has doubled since the incident.

It all started when Dave Mullins, 28, and Charlie Craig, 31, went into the Masterpiece Cakeshop hoping to get a rainbow-layered cake with teal and red frosting for their wedding reception, which will take place in Denver this October after their wedding in Provincetown, Mass., which is set for September.

Phillips informed the couple his business does not create cakes for gay weddings. Mullins took to his Facebook page.

Describing the ordeal as an β€œawkward, surreal, very brief encounter,” Mullins said he responded by directing an expletive and an obscene gesture at the owner of what he is calling a β€œhomophobic cake shop.”

Phillips said he isn’t a homophobe, and that he would gladly serve any other baked good to a gay couple β€” just not a wedding cake.

β€œI’m a follower of Jesus Christ, so you could say this is a religious belief,” Phillips said. β€œI believe the Bible teaches that (homosexuality) is not an OK thing.”

The bakery is family owned and operated. Phillips said since 1993, it has turned away about a half dozen same sex weddings.

While this incident has brought about several death threats – the cake shop was forced to call the police Sunday – Phillips said the boom in publicity hasn’t hurt business. Just the opposite, in fact.

β€œ(On Monday) we had about twice as much business as normal,” Phillips said. β€œThere are people coming in to support us.”

As discussed numerous times at this blog and others before, we all have the right to take our business elsewhere if we don’t like the way a business, well, does business. Β We also have the right, as American citizens, to organize boycotts against said business as well, especially in the case of a national chain – which is what the left is doing with Chick-fil-A, under the guise of Β “discrimination” of course (in reality, it’s religious bigotry being promoted by the Rahm Emanuels of America, but I digress. Sort of.).

But does having “the right” to do something always make it “right” to do? No, it doesn’t. It never has and it never will.

What we have is one small business (Masterpiece Cakeshop) that will do other cakes for gays but will not create a gay wedding cake because of their religious beliefs. Β It’s not clear whether the couple knew this before they took to Facebook to express their rant, or if the people who started the petition on their behalf did, but I think it’s safe to say that either way the response would have been the same: The couple would have been branded “homophobic’ and “haters” and been the target of a growing nationwide campaign designed to demean business owners who support the traditional definition of marriage.

Even if the motivations of the shop owners weren’t religious in nature, it’s possible to to be a secularist in opposition to alternative forms of marriage and to want to conduct your business accordingly. Also, secularist or not, you can oppose gay marriage without being “homophobic”, although liberal supporters of it surely don’t mind throwing that word around every chance they get towards anyone who disagrees with them, even if that person Β hasn’t demonstrated any hateful nature towards gays.

Liberals will say this cake shop refusing to make a gay wedding cake is on par with a restaurant owner refusing to serve food to a black man back in the segregation days. Β That isn’t the case here, because 1) this private business owner is exercising its right to religious freedom as per what the Bible says about homosexuality and 2) this shop didn’t refuse to serve the gay couple full stop – they refused to make a wedding cake for them. Β Had they come in and requested a 4th of July cake or the like, the store owners say they would have made the cake without issue.

What would I do in the event I went into a local shop and they refused to provide for me what I asked for based on personal beliefs? I’d be understandably upset, but I wouldn’t react obscenely the way this couple reacted, nor would I organize a nationwide campaign against them. Β I’d go home, cool off, analyze what happened, and if I were still upset later I’d tell people I know what happened, and let word of mouth do its thing around town. Β Simple as that.

I swear, it is has gotten to the point in this country where Β two locals cannot disagree on a hot button issue without it making national headlines, campaigns being organized, etc, especially when it comes to gay marriage. Β Yes, there are some people opposed to gay marriage because they “hate gays” but that shouldn’t overshadow the fact that others oppose alternative forms of marriage – including gay marriage – Β for various legitimate reasons, including both religious and/or secular. Β Some people – like me – Β simply believe that the one man /one woman two parent structure is the ideal environment in which to raise Β a child. Β Others don’t think the government should have a say so in marriage at all. That’s fine. Let the discussions be had. But for God’s sake (and for the sake of the individual rights of private citizens/biz owners across America), stop start respecting religious freedom and stop making every disagreement national issue!

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