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California court sides with Christian baker who refused lesbian couple cake

October 24, 2022 | | Print Article

A California court has ruled in favor of a baker after five years of fighting in court against a discrimination lawsuit that was filed because she refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding, citing her Christian beliefs.

Cathy Miller, who owns Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, announced that she had won her case on Saturday via Facebook.

The incident began back in 2017 when Miller refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple, Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio, for their wedding. She claimed her Christian faith would not allow her to do so and the couple proceeded to file suit against her for it, claiming they were being discriminated against.

Miller politely refused to make the cake and gave the couple the name of another bakery that could provide one for them but that was not acceptable to the couple. She also offered them a premade cake.

The gay duo set out to make an example of Miller and failed after five long years, according to the Daily Mail.

The baker took to Facebook after her historic win and told everyone, “Thank you Tastries friends and family. Yesterday, after much consideration and analysis of details regarding the Cathy’s Creations and Tastries Bakery discrimination case, Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled in favor of Cathy Miller.”

“We appreciate your prayers and support as we joyfully continue to do business with you in the future. I’m hoping that in our community we can grow together,” Miller wrote, “and we should understand that we shouldn’t push any agenda against anyone else.”

The Thomas More Society, which according to its website is a “conservative Roman Catholic public-interest law firm based in Chicago,” represented Miller in court. They called her win in a California courtroom a “First Amendment victory.”

“We applaud the court for this decision,” Thomas More Society Special Counsel Charles LiMandri proclaimed in a press release. “The freedom to practice one’s religion is enshrined in the First Amendment, and the United States Supreme Court has long upheld the freedom of artistic expression.”

Miller’s is just one of many discrimination lawsuits brought against Christians by leftists. It was filed by the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment under the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

“There’s a certain irony there that a law intended to protect individuals from religious discrimination was used to discriminate against Cathy for her religious beliefs,” Paul Jonna, who is the Thomas More Society Special Counsel, said.

“Cathy believes in the Bible,” Jonna asserted, citing Miller’s Christian belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.

In an interview with KERO in 2017, Miller commented, “Here at Tastries, we love everyone. My husband and I are Christians, and we know that God created everyone, and He created everyone equal, so it’s not that we don’t like people of certain groups, there is just certain things that violate my conscience.”

The Thomas More Society also shared portions of a deposition from February in its press release claiming that Miller’s religious beliefs were being questioned by prosecutors, which they found “disturbing.”

“Do you try to follow everything that the Bible says?” asked the attorney for the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment, Anthony Mann.

“I do my best, but I’m a sinner, but I do my best,” Miller replied during the deposition.

“Do you follow some of the eating practices from the Old Testament in terms of not eating pigs, not eating shellfish, et cetera,” Mann questioned her.

The attorneys representing her claim that the line of questioning is a clear violation of her constitutional rights.

“The state was actually questioning the sincerity of Cathy’s faith,” Jonna contended. “The fact that they called Miller’s open and sincerely held beliefs into question is almost as disturbing as quibbling over her status as an artist.”

“Miller’s only motivation, at all times, was to act consistent with her sincere Christian beliefs about what the Bible teaches regarding marriage,” Judge Bradshaw wrote in his decision. “That motivation was not unreasonable, or arbitrary, nor did it emphasize irrelevant differences or perpetuate stereotypes.”

The judge also put forth that baking cakes is still an expression of “pure speech” and is rooted in artistic expression. The statement is in reference to the First Amendment right of free speech.

“Defendants’ pure and expressive speech is entitled to protection under the First Amendment,” Bradshaw noted.

“Of course, we’re disappointed, but not surprised,” Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio stated on Friday after the judge’s ruling was issued.

“We anticipate that our appeal will have a different result,” she said.

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