Issue 1 is: can a baker be forced to make a cake for a gay couple? The answer is yes.
Issue 2 is: can a baker be forced to make an X-themed cake for some value of X? The answer is no.
AFAIK the only difference between a cake for a gay wedding and a straight one is the little statue on top. I suppose one might quibble over whether a baker can be forced to put two little groom statues on top of the cake they've made. But no one is actually fighting over that. What is at issue is whether a baker can refuse to make a cake -- any kind of cake -- for a gay wedding because they don't believe in gay marriage. And the answer to that is a definitive no.
(And a baker can choose to offer delivery or not. But if they offer delivery, they can't refuse to deliver to a gay wedding -- or a mosque or a synagogue or a satanic temple.)
> What you're saying about delivery makes sense, thanks for explaining.
My pleasure.
> Issue 1 is just Issue 2 in my mind with X filled in. These kinds of inconsistencies bother me.
But they are completely different. In case #2 we're talking about two different products. In case #1 we're talking about two different customers. That's the difference.
Issue 1 is: can a baker be forced to make a cake for a gay couple? The answer is yes.
Issue 2 is: can a baker be forced to make an X-themed cake for some value of X? The answer is no.
AFAIK the only difference between a cake for a gay wedding and a straight one is the little statue on top. I suppose one might quibble over whether a baker can be forced to put two little groom statues on top of the cake they've made. But no one is actually fighting over that. What is at issue is whether a baker can refuse to make a cake -- any kind of cake -- for a gay wedding because they don't believe in gay marriage. And the answer to that is a definitive no.
(And a baker can choose to offer delivery or not. But if they offer delivery, they can't refuse to deliver to a gay wedding -- or a mosque or a synagogue or a satanic temple.)