Jack Phillips, a Colorado native and cake artist, opened Masterpiece Cakeshop in 1993 and has served the community of Lakewood, Colorado for the last 23 years. In July 2012, two men came into Jack’s bakery requesting a wedding cake for their same-sex ceremony. Jack declined the request, saying he could not design cakes for same-sex wedding ceremonies. He offered to make the couple any other type…
Read More
The United States Supreme Court affirmed our nation's historic understanding of religious liberty by providing an exception to the abortifacient mandate that was handed down by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Affordable Care Act. "This decision is a victory for religious believers from all faith traditions, and for our country as a whole. No one should be forced…
Read More
A fifth-grade student's invitations to a church Christmas party were singled out and prohibited even though other student invitations were permitted. One would have thought that this issue could have been worked out once the Pocono Mountain School District’s administration was made aware of the selective censoring of a student’s speech. However, in K.A. v. Pocono Mountain School District, the…
Read More
The Pennsylvania Human Relations — charged with enforcing Pennsylvania’s non-discrimination laws — entered a Final Order allowing Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen to continue offering a discount on Sundays to persons who come with a current church bulletin. Intolerant of religion in society, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and one of its members brought a Complaint with Pennsylvania’s…
Read More
The Independence Law Center filed an amici brief before the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to respect parental rights. The case involves an amazing set of facts. After a husband and wife divorced, the wife remarried. Shortly after the remarriage, the wife died. Her new husband petitioned for custody of the first husband’s daughter. Even though the first husband was a fit, involved parent, the…
Read More
The Independence Law Center won a case involving David Hockenberry, a mentally retarded man whose guardians sought court approval to refuse life-preserving medical treatment. Mr. Hockenberry is not permanently unconscious or suffering from any terminal disease. In fact, he is not currently even sick. His guardians simply wanted to be able to withhold life-preserving medical treatment should he become…
Read More