I have heard a lot of people equate this businesswoman's decision not to serve this couple to a Kosher deli's right to decline to serve pork products, and I find that analogy very disturbing. Of course people have a right to offer services according to their religious beliefs, but there is a huge moral, ethical, and legal difference between declining to serve pork and declining to serve a class of people. If the baker had said she could not provide a cake topper with two brides, that would be within her rights. She is not obligated to offer products that she feels do not accord with her beliefs. On the other hand, she cannot categorically refuse to serve this couple because of who they are, and she has no right to determine how her baked goods will be used once they are purchased. A satanist has a God-given right to purchase one of her cakes and have sex with it to mock marriage if he chooses; he paid for the cake, he owns it, and his rights only end where the rights of others begin. But this couple wanted to do no such thing; they wanted to offer a cake to their friends and family to publicly celebrate their commitment to each other; I don't see how this offends the sanctity of the institution, or why this baker has a god-given right to interfere.

My guess is that she serves more than Christian clients, so her principles only come out when dealing with gay and lesbian customers (or rather non-customers).

That said, I really don't have a problem with her not working for this couple. I could care less about Childress' ability to turn away business. I'm more concerned about the blushing brides in this storyline. Do they really want to hire a cake-maker who morally opposes their wedding and their new family? They're better off knowing now and not investing any time or money into this failed business relationship. There are tons of bakers who would love to work with gay and lesbian families They should support those businesses, IMHO.

Who would Jesus NOT feed? No one!

Nice push-poll. The question is fine, the answers should have been a simple "yes" or "no." Gotta give it to those college graduates who get their degrees in environmental socialism, they sure know how to write poll questions to get the "truth" out of people!

I've been discriminated against, plenty of times. So should I run to an attorney or the newspaper every time it happens? Good grief. Bunch of cry babies.

We all discriminate at times in our lives. Discrimination can mean the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment: She chose the colors with great discrimination.

I am torn on this one. Would I refuse to make a cake for this couple? No. Should I tell this woman she does not have a right to make that choice for herself? No.

What is so odd about this is that I suspect many of the same people who insist a woman has a right to CHOOSE to abort a baby in her womb, are now saying this woman does not have the right to CHOOSE not to bake a cake for a gay couple, when the lifestyle is abhorrent to her.

Kill and unborn baby? Bake a cake? Hmm.

Should a landlord refuse to rent? No. Should an employer refuse to hire? No. But this just feels different. For goodness sakes, go buy a cake from an open minded person who embraces your love for each other!

BTW - Jeff Mullen, a pastor from Point of Grace Ministries (a guy I think is running for state office) apparently fired some Point of Grace day care employees because they were living with someone of the opposit sex without being married. Do you see a difference between that and refusing to bake a cake?

http://waukee.patch.com/articles/born-again-christians-only-daycare-parents-staff-angry-over-centers-evangelical-changes

If you can discriminate against one group then you can discriminate against any group. In the USA, everyone is equal and if your "religion" precludes you from doing business with certain Americans then you shouldn't be in business at all.

How does it violate her religious liberty to bake a cake? She operates a business, and it's not illegal to be gay, so she must comply with standard commerce laws. I am sick of people claiming they won't serve blacks at their lunch counter or won't take photos of gay people at a wedding. It's a cowardly, bigoted load of BS.

Personally, I don't much care for conservative Christians or for selfish people, but if I ran a business I would treat them exactly the same as every other paying customer. What part of that extraordinarily simple concept do people not get?

She will make cakes for heterosexual couples even though either couple could be a divorcee, adulterer, closeted homosexual, works on the Sabbath, wears leather gloves, wears a cotton blend shirt, Jewish, Muslim or Atheist.

She is as much as a Christian as a member of the KKK is Christian -- in name only.

This is discrimination, pure and simple. Makes me wonder who else she'll refuse to serve.

I struggle with both sides of this issue. On one hand I would not have a problem at all in serving this couple. On the other hand, where do we draw the line with forcing individual people to do things they personally feel violate their own consciences.

Example, lets say this cake baker was a busines sowned by black people. Now lets say that a KKK group wanted the business to cater or bake cakes for a KKK ralley in town. If the black business person refused to do so, would we be having this discussion?

Disclaimer: For goodness sakes I am not comparing gays to KKK members. I am only making a point that where do we find it acceptable for a private person to say NO I do not want to serve you.

If a business owned by Jews were to be asked to cater a Skin Head / Nazi convention, and refused, would we be having this discussion?

If a group of gays owned a convention hall, and and the a-hole pastor who pickets military funerals and carries around signs saying "God hates Faggots" wanted to rent the convention hall owned by gays, should they be ridiculed for saying NO?

This gay couple should be glad to know the person they were going to give money to hates gays. And therefore they can take their check books to a different baker.

What about the business called "Curves" ? It is a WOMAN ONLY fitness facility in strip malls that discriminates against men. Why have I never heard any outrage at them?

When one of the bakers descendants comes out gay and he/she inherits the business, things and minds will change

The cake maker wasn't looking for controversy, but the two hatefilled lesbians were.

Just curious: Does this same baker decline work from folks who are remarrying after a divorce? Or how about if they have a felony record? Or if they've ever taken the Lord's name in vain? I'm pretty sure all of the above are disapproved in the bible.

As a private business owner she technically has the right to decline working for someone but if she does so on behalf of Christian beliefs then how does she decide which sin to focus on? She must spend a lot of time trying to figure out who she can work with...