It was bound to happen sooner or later. You may remember the sad story of Jack Phillips in Colorado at Masterpiece Cakeshop who declined to bake a wedding cake for two homosexuals. The court ruled he unlawfully discriminated against the gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake.

Now that state will have to rule on another case with the opposite set of circumstances. A customer came into Majorie Silva’s bakery and ordered a cake with two men holding hand with an “X” over them. In icing, he requested the words “God Hates Gays.”

Marjorie was understandably appalled, as most people would be, and denied the request. This triggered a complaint to the Colorado Civil Rights Division. They will now have to revisit their half-baked decision and determine if she should face the same punishment as Jack Phillips. Both Jack Phillips and Marjorie Silva refused to promote a message they morally oppose. Both of them should have the right to conduct their small business the way they see fit.

It will be interesting to see whether Marjorie receives a fine. To be consistent, the Colorado Civil Rights Division would have to fine her for not baking a cake that would offend millions of people. But if they don’t, then they would be saying that only certain types of speech and certain types of cakes can be exempt.

As I said, it was bound to happen. Somebody was bound to test the waters. I don’t even know how sincere the request was. That doesn’t matter. It was a perfect object lesson. The bureaucrats who are ruling against photographers, bakers, and florists should consider how their attempts to force Christians to accept same-sex marriage would impact other small businesses. We wouldn’t force Jewish owners of a delicatessen to sell non-Kosher food. We wouldn’t force a vegetarian restaurant to sell meat. If you don’t like what a particular store offers, you can walk down the street to another establishment.

Small business owners should have the right to decide what services they provide. Government bureaucrats shouldn’t force either of these bakers to do what violates their conscience.