The cake issue is solved. But questions about the reaches of protections for religious freedom versus protections for gay rights remain unanswered.
Using a very narrow reading of the facts of the case, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled 7-2 in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The ruling, however, still leaves a major question unanswered, according to Northeastern law professor Dan Urman: “Is this a case about cake or about the people trying to buy a cake?”
The case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which legal scholars anticipated could set a precedent for either First Amendment protection or gay rights, did neither. Instead, the close reading of case proceedings amounted to a “punt,” said Urman, who teaches courses on Constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court.
