In 2015 Oregon fined Christian baker Sweet Cakes by Melissa a whopping $135,000 for refusing to make a gay wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Well today, instead of issuing a ruling, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling and sent the case back to the lower courts in light of their Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling:
BREAKING: Supreme Court tells lower court to revisit $135,000 fine against Oregon bakery that refused to make cake for gay wedding. After months of delay, Scotus remands to reconsider in light of Masterpiece.
— Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) June 17, 2019
BREAKING: Supreme Court sends Oregon case about baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple back to lower court for re-do in light of last years Masterpiece ruling
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) June 17, 2019
BREAKING: Supreme Court studiously avoids more input on whether Christian bakers can deny services to gay customers pic.twitter.com/51B0LG9dQ7
— Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) June 17, 2019
I’m not sure why the court refuses to rule on the case, but they apparently feel that the lower court got it wrong with respect to their previous ruling on Masterpiece Cakeshop. That case, if you remember, dealt specifically with anti-Christian bias by the state of Colorado.
Hopefully this means that lower courts will find differently for Sweet Cakes by Melissa, but if they don’t I guess they’ll be right back to the Supreme Court once again.