Colorado court to hear baker's appeal over gay wedding cake

DENVER, July 7 (UPI) -- A Colorado appeals court is scheduled Tuesday to hear the case of Jack Phillips, a baker who refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding.

Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips is appealing an order he received to cease his anti-gay policy or face fines instead.

The dispute began in 2012, when gay newlyweds Charlie Craig and David Mullins visited the bakery in Denver after being married in Massachussetts.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Mullins revealed that he and Craig were "mortified" when Phillips told them he wouldn't bake their cake, having never before been turned away from a business because of their orientation.

They posted a message on Facebook about their experience, which went viral on the same day.

Messages of support from individuals came in over the next few days. They also received offers from other bakers dismayed by their experience and willing to bake their wedding cake.

Mullins and Craig were joined in August of 2012 by a small group of supporters boycotting the bakery and bearing signs that read "Let Them Eat Cake" and "Open Your Heart."

In 2013, a judge ruled that Phillips' discriminatory policy violated Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act, a ruling affirmed by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in 2014. Philips is now appealing that order.