…Almost a year passed from the date the court was first asked to review a dispute between a gay couple and a baker [Jack Phillips] who refused to make them a wedding cake and the justices’ announcement that they would do just that.

…[F]lorists, bakers, photographers and others have claimed that being forced to offer their wedding services to same-sex couples violates their rights of religious liberty and free expression.

Courts have routinely turned down the business owners…saying that state anti-discrimination laws require businesses that are open to the public to treat all potential customers equally.

…“Every step of the way here in Colorado, the courts and commissions have found that Jack Phillips violated Colorado law…

...“As a creative professional and a businessman, I shouldn’t have to give up my freedom – my religion – when I open a bakery.” [said the baker], …

The couple then learned that Colorado’s public accommodations law specifically prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, and they filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

…Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission [was] accepted…and scheduled…for oral argument in the fall…