Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to provide the public and employers with a bright line for when the free exercise of speech or religion must yield to the state’s protection of the rights and dignities of gay persons. The case was an opportunity for the court to provide accommodation guidance.

In 2012, Jack Phillips, a bakery owner and operator and self-professed devout Christian, told a same-sex couple that he would not create a cake for their wedding because of his religious opposition to same-sex marriage. The couple filed a charge with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The commission held that the bakery’s acts violated the couple’s rights. And the matter found itself in the U.S. Supreme Court.