Seriously. the anti-bakers should fuck off but I like this recognition for bakers part. It can be epic stuff. Ask me how I know.

Julie~~the baker

"Nope, I refuse to sell tiki-torches to Neo-Nazis. They are my kind of free speech."

available fo rmass-produced/marketed products as there is for individual artwork.

you might have a point.

But the scenario suggested was a merely a store owner refusing to sell the tiki torches, not the artist who made them (or designed the mold for a mass-produced ceramic item).

The First Amendment permits not only speech but permits one to refrain from "speech" (i.e., refusing to say the Declaration of Independence).

A State Actor in the USA cannot make someone say something with which they disagree.

I could even see that simple white cakes, sent to Nazis would be speech in the form of symbols -- white purity, for example. I'd no more bake that than I'd jump off a bridge.

Long way of saying, the First Amendment permits idiots to say stupid things or refuse to say normal things. Hence, I'm in favor of taking my business to a different baker and to leave these idiots alone.

If these Christian dipshits are so protective of their beliefs over petty bullshit, fuck 'em. Why not have dress designers, banquet halls, catering companies, photographers, etc that only cater to gay weddings? I see a missed monetary opportunity here!

When I was a teenager (mind you this was prior to WWII), there were lots of establishments that were crappy to Jews. So we built our own. (I'm thinking, in particular, about the YMCA, whose policies forced us to create the JCC.)

Normal consumers will destroy these guys. No one supports them and everyone will shun them.

But anyone can see that turning away customers is dangerous and detrimental to your business. Not only does it hurt the reputation of your business, it will cost you customers in the long run when they learn that anyone can be turned away.

Turning away customers hurts regardless of your beliefs will ultimately hurt your business in the long run.

Any artistic creator for hire has a certain style that appeals to their clientele. Even if they might prefer to specialize in cakes featuring artistic cats and unicorns, business demands that they deliver whatever subjects their customers demand. No matter what the customer orders, as a good business owner, any creative artist, even a cakemaker, tries their best for every client.

The cake decorator doesn't have to approve of a client's wishes any more than a hairdresser has to like her customer's choice in hairstyles, or a graphic artist has to accept the political POV of her customer. They do the best work they can because their clients want their artistic style, not their personal opinions. It doesn't take a genius to see that is how business works.

If a cake decorator can be artistically creative for a straight couple, or two guys hunting, a two girls at the beach, then they can be just as decorative with a gay couple, unless their objection is really more about bigotry and hate, which are, no doubt, hard to depict artistically.