Monkey, I'm going to try and explain this one more time. I'm shocked at how tragically you're missing the point here.
Most of what I know and think on this subject comes from the case of the baker in colorado whose claim went all the way up to the supreme court. The supreme court and I have completely congruent opinions on this case. So what I'm about to explain to you isn't just a banana-rant, it's also the law of the land.
You can go to the grocery store today, walk up to the bakery counter, and you'll find a catalog of all the different cakes you can order from their bakery. Most of them are for little kid's birthdays. But they'll write "happy retirement" or "sorry you got pwned in the forum" on a cake if you want them to. You can point to a picture of a basic cake, with a predetermined design and say "give me that one please"
Anyone can do that. Even gays. I don't know if the baker in the big case sold cakes like that (standard designs out of a catalog), but if he does, he has to sell them to gays. If a gay comes in and asks for a birthday cake, this baker would sell him the cake. If a gay person asks for a retirement cake he'll get it. If he asks for a 4th of July cake, he gets it. If he asks for a cake celebrating his anal prolapse...he gets it.
The baker in the big case AGREES with all of this. He doesn't discriminate against anyone on the basis of being gay. What he has a problem with is *participating* in something he finds sinful. It's extremely important that you understand this. He's not saying "I don't sell cakes to gays". He is saying "please leave me out of your sin". A gay person having a birthday is not a sin...here's a cake. A gay person retiring is not a sin...here's a cake. A gay person celebrating 4th of july is not a sin....he gets a cake. Is this making sense now?
It's not an "artistic" reason. The issue is that art = speech (not debatable). the government can't compel speech. It can't punish you for not engaging in certain speech. Therefore it cannot compel art. And it can't punish you for not producing certain art.What is the artistic reason to not make the cake?
I'm sorry if it's been explained and I don't remember.
In this case the artist believes that producing the art (the speech) is sinful and against his religious beliefs. Making a CUSTOM wedding cake means you're participating in the ceremony....which is a sin.
There is also a policy against sinning yourself. The baker doesn't care if you're gay. He doesn't care if you go get married. He just doesn't want to be part of it. That's all.Christian morals include a policy of forgiveness, reserving judgement for the Lord, turning the other cheek, being a good Samaritan.
If it helps clarify, this same baker also refuses to make Halloween cakes, for everyone. He believes celebrating Halloween is a sin. So he doesn't celebrate it. And he won't help you celebrate it. For the exact same reason he won't help you celebrate your gay wedding.
Please tell me specifically if there is still anything you don't understand
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