A baker based in Colorado, USA has been cleared of discriminatory charges by the Supreme Court.
The baker had been sued by a gay couple who claimed that he refused to make them a cake due to their sexual orientation and that he inflicted emotional trauma on them in the process.
They sued in the hopes of creating a precedent and mandating the baker to pay huge damages.
The Supreme Court in its ruling said: “The laws and the Constitution can, and in some instances must, protect gay persons and gay couples in the exercise of their civil rights, but religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views in some instances protected forms of expression”
The baker, Jack Phillips had refused the gay couple service due to his Christian beliefs, was freed of all charges.
And while the lead judge in the case sided with Phillips, he also stressed that gay rights should not be trampled upon and that on a case by case basis, tolerance and respect should be abided by in delivering judgment.
“Our society has come to the recognition that gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth,” the judge said.
The case has been in court for 6 years and it was decided 7-2 by the Supreme Court.