A religious discrimination complaint has been filed against the owner of a bakery in Denver, Colorado, after she allegedly refused to bake a cake and decorate it with anti-gay phrases and images. Marjorie Silva, owner of Azucar Bakery, told the media a customer named Bill Jack had approached her in March 2014, requesting her to bake several Bible-shaped cakes with anti-gay phrases like “God Hates Fags” and similar images.
“We never refuse service,” said Silva. “We did feel that it was not right for us to write hateful words or pictures against human beings.”
Even though Silva offered to bake the cakes and provide extra frosting to her customer so he could write whatever he wanted to, that was apparently not enough. Jack responded to her services by filing a complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, alleging that she had discriminated against him because of his religious views. Jack has been identified as the founder of a non-denominational Christian organization called Worldview Academy.
In a separate statement, he said, “I believe I was discriminated against by the bakery based on my creed. As a result, I filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights division. Out of respect for the process, I will wait for the director to release his findings before making further comments.”
However, Silva responded to Jack’s comment with an image on her bakery's Facebook page.
“It's unfair that he's accusing me of discriminating when I think he was the one that is discriminating,” she said.
With more states in America beginning to implement same-sex marriage laws, bakeries and confectioneries have become an unlikely battleground for LGBT individuals.
Photo Credits: Daily Mail
