An anti-LGBT activist ordered a rainbow-colored cake with a hateful anti-gay message from a lesbian-owned bakery, then cried discrimination when his request wasn’t fulfilled.
David Gordon, who works for the Michigan-based right-wing Catholic group Church Militant, ordered the cake last month from Good Cakes and Bakes in Detroit, which is owned by April Anderson and her wife, Michelle.
“I am ordering this cake to celebrate and have PRIDE in true Christian marriage,” Gordon wrote in his order. “I’d like you to write on the cake, in icing, ‘Homosexual acts are gravely evil. (Catholic Catechism 2357)'”
Although they are accustomed to discrimination, April Anderson said she and her wife were shocked to receive the anonymous but paid online order. A friend quickly traced it to Gordon, who later told the Detroit Free Press: “I was denied the services I requested at a place of public accommodation on the basis of the content of my beliefs — this is gleefully acknowledged by the owners of the bakery in the relevant Pridesource article. Imagine the umbrage if a homosexual couple arrived at their ‘wedding’ reception to find a Christian baker had made them a ‘straight’ cake. This is about fairness, not ideology.”
Michael Voris, the “ex-gay” founder of Church Militant, claims Gordon undertook the stunt without his employer’s knowledge and has been “spoken to” and “apologized.” Meanwhile, LGBT legal experts say Anderson was within her rights in refusing to decorate the cake as requested.
Anderson baked the Pride-themed cake for Gordon, but declined to include the message under a policy on the business’ website that says such requests must be made over the phone or in person. Anderson’s friend also organized a pro-LGBT demonstration during Gordon’s scheduled pickup time, but he never showed. When he called later about the cake, they told him it had been discarded and he’d have to order a new one.
Anderson and her wife included a note with Gordon’s cake saying, “We feel the only ‘grave evil’ is the judgement that good christians, like yourself, impose on folks that don’t meet their vision of what God wants them to be.”
Supporters of the bakery now plan to post pro-LGBT signs within view of Church Militant’s offices, Pridesource reports.
Anderson, who has baked for Oprah Winfrey and appeared on NBC’s Today show, told her story in a TED Talk last year. Watch it below.
