Thank you for your interest in standing with Jack through these difficult times! For over six years, Colorado officials have been on a crusade to crush Jack because of his Christian faith. But Jack stood strong and fought for his freedom--and our freedom--all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. There, he won a great victory for religious liberty! He thought that meant the end of his painful struggle against Colorado's hostility. Unfortunately, he was wrong. After the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Colorado violated the First Amendment by demonstrating religious hostility against Jack, it took Colorado less than a month to renew its crusade against him. This time, instead of punishing Jack for declining to design a custom cake celebrating a same-sex wedding, Colorado seeks to punish him for politely declining to create a custom cake with a pink and blue design celebrating a gender transition. Jack serves everyone, including people within the LGBT community. What he can't do is create cakes that express messages or celebrate events in conflict with his religious beliefs. But Colorado doesn't care that Jack has a constitutional right to peacefully live and create art consistent with his religious convictions. Nor does it care that he serves everyone. In Colorado's view, Jack must suffer because his religious beliefs prevent him from celebrating certain ideas about marriage, gender, and sex that Colorado endorses. And suffer he has. Over the last six years, Jack lost around 40% of his annual revenue at Masterpiece Cakeshop. He also endured repeated instances of harassment from others, including death threats. Jack just wants to move on, but Colorado won't let him. Instead, the state has decided to ignore the Supreme Court's decision and unlawfully target Jack's faith yet again. It seems that Colorado won't stop going after Jack until he closes down his shop or agrees to violate his faith. Enough is enough. Colorado's hostility left Jack with no choice but to file a federal lawsuit to try to stop this persecution. He could have another long struggle ahead of him as he once again stands up for the right of every American to live, work, and speak consistent with their core convictions. Please support Jack Phillips and stand with him against Colorado's unconstitutional harassment! "I want a world in which we are free to live peacefully according to our deepest convictions. I don't want to live in a world in which anyone should fear being punished for having beliefs the government doesn't like." - Jack ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***Who is Jack?*** Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, embodies the phrase "cake artist." He is truly an artist turned cake designer, where his canvas is cake and his paint is icing. Jack is also a Christian. In fact, it would be more correct to say that he is a follower of Christ first, and a cake artist second. His ability, talent, and business come directly from his Creator, and he desires to glorify God in everything he does. His deep conviction to honor God in everything informs his decision not to create cakes that express messages or celebrate events in conflict with his religious beliefs. Over the years, he has refused to create cakes that promote Halloween, contain anti-American themes, or espouse atheism, racism, indecency, and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***About This Situation*** In the 25 years since Jack opened Masterpiece Cakeshop, he has gladly served everyone while also declining to create cakes celebrating a wide variety of messages and events that conflict with his goal of doing everything for the glory of God. But some of his decisions about what messages he will convey through his custom cakes have upset Colorado. ***Round 1*** Two men asked Jack for a custom wedding cake to celebrate their same-sex marriage. Jack politely declined, explaining that he would happily provide them with other creations, such as birthday cakes, cookies, and brownies. For that, Jack has been shouted down, threatened with death, mocked in the media, flooded with vile messages, and sued. He has also seen his shop vandalized. His own government has denigrated his beliefs. One Colorado official who decided his case said that religious freedom is a "despicable piece[] of rhetoric" that slave owners, Nazis, and people like Jack use to "hurt others." (https://goo.gl/gW9Gjb) The reference to Nazis was particularly painful for Jack, whose father served in World War II and helped liberate a concentration camp. Colorado also treated Jack differently than others, allowing three other cake designers to decline to create cakes expressing messages they found objectionable, but refusing to afford Jack the same freedom. The Supreme Court condemned this government hostility against Jack's faith in a 7-2 decision for Jack. ***Round 2*** In what seems to be a setup, an attorney called Jack's shop on the very same day that the Supreme Court announced it would hear Jack's first case. The attorney wanted a custom cake with a blue and pink design to celebrate a gender transition. After Jack's shop politely declined that request because he could not in good conscience create a cake with that message, the attorney filed a complaint with Colorado. Then, less than a month after Colorado received a stern rebuke from the Supreme Court for showing hostility to Jack's religious beliefs, Colorado decided to double down. Once again, Colorado indicated that it would not tolerate Jack's religious beliefs and that Colorado law requires him to create cakes celebrating messages that violate his core convictions. Pushing back against Colorado's determination to persecute him, Jack filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state. He is hoping for a quick victory so that he can get back to the life that Colorado keeps taking from him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------