A California court has recognised a pastry chef’s right to refuse to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple, as the Supreme Court debates a similar case with weighty implications.
A court in Bakersfield, located in a conservative region of central California, ruled in a judgement Monday night that the shop owner was able to deny baking a cake specifically for a same-sex couple.
“No baker may place their wares in public display case, open their shop, and then refuse to sell because of race, religion, gender, or gender identification,” the ruling said, according to a report by AFP News agency.
But “the difference here is that the cake in question is not yet baked.”
The court said to make the baker “use her talents to design and create cake she has not yet conceived with the knowledge that her work will be displayed in celebration of marital union her religion forbids” would violate the US first amendment that protects free speech.
Cathy Miller, the baker in question, said she was “so joyful” upon receiving the news, according to US media.
