Transgender Cake
Colorado baker Jack Phillips is suing the state for what he claims is a violation of his religious beliefs after refusing to make a cakes for a gender transition celebration. A general view of atmosphere during the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival Presented By Capital One - All About Cake Presented By PureWow Hosted By Christina Tosi of Milk Bar at Union West Events on October 13, 2018 in New York City. Getty Images/Daniel Zuchnik

The Colorado baker that refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his religious beliefs is in court once again. Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver, Colorado, is suing the state for taking action against him for refusing to make a cake for a gender transition, NBC News reported.

According to the complaint filed by lawyers for Phillips , the state of Colorado is treating him with hostility because of his Christian faith in what they called an “obvious setup.”

“At this point, he's just a guy who is trying to get back to life,” Jim Cambell, attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit law firm, told NBC News after the hearing. “The problem is the state of Colorado won't let him."

Colorado state officials are arguing for the case to be dismissed, but the judge is considering letting the case move forward through the court system and would issue a ruling on the matter at a later date, NBC reported.

The discrimination in question refers to a Denver attorney, Autumn Scardina, that went through a transgender transition from male to female and wanted to have Phillips make a cake for the occasion, according to NBC News. The cake Scardina wanted Phillips to make would have been blue on the outside and pink on the inside to celebrate her transition last year, the news outlet said.

Scardina asked Phillips to make the cake on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court said it would consider his first case for appeal. This case involved same-sex couple Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins, who Phillips refused to make a wedding cake for based on his religious beliefs. The Supreme Court ruled in June that this case was a violation of Phillip’s First Amendment rights.

In his lawsuit, Phillips is alleging that the state of Colorado violated his First Amendment rights to practice his religion and also his 14th Amendment right to equal protection, NBC News reported. He is seeking $100,000 in damages from Aubrey Elenis, the director of the Civil Rights Division in Colorado, according to the suit.

The complaint filed by Phillips’s attorneys stated that he “believes as a matter of religious conviction that sex — the status of being male or female — is given by God, is biologically determined, is not determined by perceptions or feelings, and cannot be chosen or changed.”

The lawsuit also claims that Phillips has received death threats as well as harassment that included the vandalization of his shop.

A state hearing is set for February to determine what will happen next in the case, according to NBC News.

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