We The People

The Masterpiece Cakeshop case

November 30, 2017

Share

On December 5, 2017,  the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case examining how to balance free speech and freedom of religion claims against claims of discrimination.

The question at stake is whether the government can compel a bakery owner to act in ways—in this case, creating a wedding cake for a gay couple—that violates his religious beliefs about marriage.

FULL PODCAST

RECAP

PARTICIPANTS

Vanita Gupta is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The Leadership Conference joined an amicus brief in this case with other civil rights groups (NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center), siding with the Civil Rights Division.
 

Michael Moreland is University Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy at Villanova Law School. He joined an amicus brief along with 34 other legal scholars supporting the cake shop owner.
 

Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” He is also a professor at The George Washington University Law School, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. 


Related Decisions and Briefs


Additional Resources

Our Interactive Constitution is the leading digital resource about the debates and text behind the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. Here, scholars from across the legal and philosophical spectrum interact with each other to explore the meaning of each provision of our founding document. 

Common Interpretation
Freedom of Speech and the Press by Geoffrey R. Stone and Eugene Volokh

Matters of Debate
Fixing Free Speech by Geoffrey R. Stone
Frontiers for Free Speech by Eugene Volokh

Common Interpretation
The Free Exercise Clause by Frederick Gedicks and Michael McConnell

Matters of Debate
Religious Liberty Is Equal Liberty by Frederick Gedicks
Free Exercise: A Vital Protection for Diversity and Freedom by Michael McConnell


Stay Connected and Learn More

Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.

Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster of podcasts at Panoply.fm.

The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! In-person and on-demand credit is now available in Pennsylvania, with more states to come soon.

And finally, despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. 

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected]

Loading...

Explore Further

Podcast
Can the Government Pressure Private Companies to Stifle Speech?

The Supreme Court examines the limits of jawboning

Town Hall Video
Unpacking the Supreme Court’s Tech Term

Legal experts Alex Abdo, Clay Calvert, and David Greene explore key tech cases before the Supreme Court and important questions at…

Blog Post
A national TikTok ban and the First Amendment

The recent House passage of a bill banning TikTok from app stores in the United States has ignited a national constitutional…

Educational Video
AP Court Case Review Featuring Caroline Fredrickson (All Levels)

In this fast-paced and fun session, Caroline Fredrickson, one of the legal scholars behind the National Constitution Center’s…

More from the National Constitution Center
Constitution 101

Explore our new 15-unit core curriculum with educational videos, primary texts, and more.

Media Library

Search and browse videos, podcasts, and blog posts on constitutional topics.

Founders’ Library

Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.

News & Debate