A Case Study Of Masterpiece Cakeshop V.Colorado Civil Rights Commission

On June 26,2015,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v.Hodges that same-sex marriage is legal,making the United States the 21 st country to legalize same-sex marriage.From the Stonewall riots to the Obergefell case,it took nearly half a century of struggle for the American gay community to obtain same-sex marriage rights.However,this did not mean a complete victory for the gay affirmative action movement.On July 9,2012,a gay couple walked into a bakery and wanted a custom wedding cake for their wedding,but the owner,Phillips,refused to serve them because his religion was against same-sex marriage and making a wedding cake for a gay couple was against his religious beliefs.After the refusal,the gay couple sued Phillips with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission on the grounds of sexual orientation discrimination,a case that was eventually appealed to the U.S.Federal Supreme Court.On June 4,2018,the U.S.Federal Supreme Court announced the outcome of the case,with nine justices ruling by a 7-2 margin that the Civil Rights Commission had violated the First Amendment,thus upholding Phillips’ freedom of religion.This paper is divided into three main parts: the introduction,the body,and the conclusion.The introductory part introduces the basis and academic value of the selected topic,research ideas and methods,important and difficult points,and a review of domestic and foreign research.The main text consists of four main chapters: Chapter 1 outlines the historical background of the cake case through a linear review of specific cases.The Masterpiece Cakeshop case,as a lawsuit,did not reach the Federal Supreme Court overnight,but has its own unique historical origin and practical background.Freedom of religion is deeply rooted in American society,and citizens regard it as an absolute right;the growing gay community has gained the right to same-sex marriage through the Obergefell case.The conflict between the expanding gay rights and religious freedom intensified and eventually led to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case;Chapter2,supported by the litigation materials of the case,details the process of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case before it reached all levels of the federal Supreme Court.When the cake store refused to provide a wedding cake for the gay couple,they filed a charge of discrimination against Phillips with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.The commission referred the case to the executive branch,and because the facts of the case were undisputed,the administrator granted summary judgment,upholding the gay couple’s claim.Phillips,on the other hand,disagreed with the results of the administrative law judge and the Civil Rights Commission and appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.The Colorado Court of Appeals also upheld the Administrator’s decision,to which Phillips chose to appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court,which declined to hear the case;Chapters 3 and 4 are the focus of the article.Chapter 3 describes in detail the process of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case once it reached the federal Supreme Court.Since the Colorado Supreme Court refused to hear the case,Phillips decided to appeal further to the federal Supreme Court.The Supreme Court’s trial process consists of two main stages: the bench trial and the pronouncement of the Court’s opinion.The Court’s opinion,as the most crucial part of the Supreme Court’s proceedings,provides insight into the justices’ positions in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case,and the basic positions of the Supreme Court justices often have a potential role in guiding the overall judicial practice in the United States.The reasons that influenced the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision and its social impact.As one of the most important cases concerning the gay community to come before the Supreme Court since Obergefell,the Masterpiece Cakeshop case has received much attention.The Supreme Court’s decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case has a significant impact on the whole body,and the7-2 decision reflects the game between liberals and conservatives within the Supreme Court on the one hand,and the Supreme Court’s compromise on the central political conflict between religion and homosexuality on the other.The concluding remarks point out that the cake case is both a microcosm of American society and culture and a product of the gay and lesbian affirmative action movement.Through the Masterpiece Cakeshop case,we can realize that the legalization of same-sex marriage does not mean a complete victory for the gay and lesbian affirmative action movement,and that there is still a long way to go to obtain equal rights.