A county court judge ruled Tuesday that a bakery owner in California can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples.
Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe’s ruling will allow Cathy Miller to do so until her next court date in June, according to Bakersfield.com.
However, Miller’s lawyer says in the meantime he will move for the dismissal of the case because Lampe’s decision carries a lot of weight, relying heavily on the First Amendment.
“The right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment outweighs the State’s interest in ensuring a freely accessible marketplace,” Lampe wrote in his final ruling. “The right of freedom of thought guaranteed by the First Amendment includes the right to speak, and the right to refrain from speaking. Sometimes the most profound protest is silence.”
At a prayer rally before the hearing on Friday, Miller said God gave her the ability to make beautiful cakes and she is committing to using that ability in the way she believes God wanted.
This ruling comes among a larger, yet similar, case that has made its way to the Supreme Court regarding a baker in Colorado refusing to make a same-sex couple’s wedding cake. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in December and is expected to make a decision on the case in late spring.
