Anti-gay cake-maker ordered to cook for same-sex marriages retires from wedding business

DENVER, June 3 (UPI) -- A baker outside of Denver will no longer make wedding cakes after the Colorado Civil Rights Commission unanimously ruled he discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing their business.

Jack Phillips claimed his personal interpretation of the Christian bible exempted him from Colorado's 2008 law banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Now that a December 2013 ruling denying that claim was upheld in late May, Phillips says he's out of the wedding business for good.

"We would close down the bakery before we would complicate our beliefs," Phillips told local reporters.

Although he's not closing down, Baker will deny all requests for wedding cakes, regardless of the customer's sexuality. In addition to being required to obey the law if he resumes catering to nuptials, Baker and his staff must undergo anti-discrimination training and file quarterly reports for two years about their progress.

"The next time a gay couple wanders in there asking for a wedding cake, they won't have the experience we had," said David Mullins, one of the victim's of Phillips' 2012 discrimination.

"They will have a responsible experience and leave feeling respected."