by Thaddeus Baklinski
LAKEWOOD, Colorado, July 31, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The owner of a cake shop in Lakewood, Colorado said that, following a refusal to provide a wedding cake for a homosexual couple his business has more than doubled.
Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, told local media that this wasn’t the first time he had turned away homosexuals seeking wedding cakes, but it is the first time his stand for Christian principles has resulted in so much media attention and some death threats.
Phillips explained that since 1993 the family owned and operated business has refused about half-a-dozen requests for same-sex wedding cakes. However, on Sunday he said he was forced to call police because of several death threats over the latest refusal.
The situation developed on July 19 when two homosexuals entered the shop and announced they were getting “married” in Massachusetts and wanted to order a wedding reception cake for their reception in Colorado. When Phillips refused, one of the pair, 28-year-old Dave Mullins, is reported to have said, “F*** you and your homophobic cake shop,” and directed an obscene gesture at the owner before leaving.
According to the Huffington Post an online petition in support of the homosexual pair was set up and “has drawn nearly 400 signatures” while a Facebook page, “Boycott Masterpiece Bakeshop, currently has over 200 members.”
Phillips said the publicity has generated a business boom, with customers coming to the shop specifically because of his stand against same-sex “marriage.”
“[On Monday] we had about twice as much business as normal,” Phillips said. “There are people coming in to support us.”
“I’m a follower of Jesus Christ, so you could say this is a religious belief,” Phillips told KDVR TV. “I believe the Bible teaches that [homosexuality] is not an OK thing.”
Phillips remarked that he is not “homophobic” and does not refuse service to anyone based on their sexual orientation. He does however draw the line on catering to same-sex “marriage.” Colorado does not recognize same-sex “marriage” or same-sex civil unions.
“If gays come in and want to order birthday cakes or any cakes for any occasion, graduations, or whatever, I have no prejudice against that whatsoever,” Phillips said. “It’s just the wedding cake, not the people, not their lifestyle.”
“We would close down that bakery before we closed our beliefs, so that may be what it comes to … we’ll see,” Phillips concluded.
Denver Westword reported that, “Some online commentors (sic) have advocated violence against Masterpiece Cakeshop.”
A Masterpiece staff member, however, told the news service when asked about the situation, “We have nothing to say about that. We don’t want to talk about that, so you’ll just have to make something up.”
No comments:
Post a Comment