Denver Cake Shop Refuses to Make Gay Couple's Wedding Cake

A cake shop in Denver told a gay couple last week that they are refusing to make them a rainbow-layered wedding cake this fall.

Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig plan to wed officially in Provincetown, Mass., this September, with a reception for friends and family in Denver a month later. When they went to order a cake, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips said they do not make cakes for gay weddings, Westword reports.

Mullins and Craig don't seem to be the only same-sex couple to encounter problems with Masterpiece Cakeshop. According to Westword, other previous customers like Yelp user Samantha S., have said the shop does not "participate in making cakes for 'illegal' things, such as a commitment ceremony." A Masterpiece employee did say, however, that they would be willing to make any other kind of celebratory cake for gay customers, as long as it was not for a wedding or commitment ceremony.

The couple has since gone to a gay friendly shop, but an online petition is circulating, and a boycott is being organized after the incident.

"This is the first time I've ever been refused service at a business because I was gay," Mullins said. "I want [Phillips] to know that what he did hurt us. All we wanted was a cake. We didn't want him to put on a rainbow shirt and march in the gay pride parade. This is me standing up for my community's rights."