A closer look at SCOTUS's gay cake decision

The Supreme Court decided 7-2 that cake-maker Jack Phillips apparently did not have to make a cake for a homosexual ceremony. I say "apparently" because the court's reasoning was convoluted. Instead of saying outright that custom cake-makers don't have an obligation to produce custom made cakes for homosexual cermonies, the court simply said the local human rights commission didn't consider his right to follow his religious belief when he refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

By a 7-2 vote, the court said Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker, was treated with hostility and bias by a state commission that concluded his actions violated a state anti-discrimination law.

"The commission's hostility [to Phillips and his religious beliefs] was inconsistent with the First Amendment's guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion," [Justice] Kennedy wrote. "Phillips was entitled to a neutral decision-maker who would give full and fair consideration to his religious objection."

So the Court decided for Phillips without giving a broader ruling.

"The outcome of other cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts," said Kennedy, who has authored most of the court's most significant gay rights cases.

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