“The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them,” stated Weiser. “Equal justice for all will continue to be a core value that we will uphold as we enforce our state’s and nation’s civil rights laws.” Kristen Waggoner, the Alliance Defending Freedom attorney who argued on behalf of Phillips before the Supreme Court, said in a statement that she considered the mutual dropping of cases to be “great news for everyone.”
Colorado has announced they are dropping their litigation against Christian baker Jack Phillips for his refusing on religious grounds to make a transgender cake.
Soon after receiving a favorable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court last year on whether he could refuse to make a same-sex wedding cake, Phillips again found himself in legal trouble for refusing to make a cake celebrating a gender transition.
In an announcement released Tuesday, the state office explained that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission will voluntarily drop its case against Phillips; in return, Phillips will end his federal lawsuit against the state.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office was representing the commission, said in a statement on Tuesday that “both sides agreed it was not in anyone’s best interest to move forward with these cases.”
