On Tuesday, December 5, oral arguments were 
held in the Masterpiece Cake v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. While it’s easy to see this case as simply about the ability for a same-sex couple to receive wedding-related services, the Masterpiece case isn’t about cakes—rather it is an attempt to dismantle our nation’s nondiscrimination laws. The discrimination unleashed if the bakery wins this case would be staggering. The license to discriminate sought by the bakery could allow any kind of business that claims they use an element of creativity—for example, a restaurant, a hair salon, a school counselor, or a tailor—to tell anyone, not just same-sex couples, that “We don’t serve your kind here.”
On Wednesday, December 6, Georgia Equality, along with our Georgia Unites Against Discrimination campaign partners ACLU of Georgia, Faith in Public Life and Lambda Legal, hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the case and the implications for LGBT rights in Georgia. Nearly 500 people from around the state participated either in person or via the live Facebook stream. For those who are interested, that video is archived on the Georgia Equality Facebook page.
In conjunction with the oral arguments, Georgia Equality has joined with over 100 state and national organizations to launch the Open to All campaign. This effort, led by the Movement Advancement Project, is a nationwide campaign to help protect our nation’s nondiscrimination laws. These laws ensure that when businesses open their doors to the public, they serve everyone on the same terms. But these laws are under attack. Those who don’t want to follow nondiscrimination laws are trying to claim that their religious beliefs mean federal and state nondiscrimination laws should not apply to them—and they are also asking the Supreme Court to create a right to discriminate in our nation’s Constitution.
Visit the Open to All campaign website at http://www.opentoall.com/ to learn more about the current court case and the national efforts to protect and expand nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals throughout the country.