Supreme Court will hear case of Colorado baker who refused to make wedding cake for same-sex couple

[onenote]

36. You can put up a sign saying you reserve the right to refuse service for any reason, but

that doesn't mean you actually can refuse service for any reason. For example, you can't refuse to serve someone because of their race or religion. And where a state or locality has a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, you can't refuse service because they're gay. In this instance, the bakery claims, and it is not contested, that it has not policy against serving gays -- if the plaintiffs had wanted to purchase cookies, or a cupcakes or a birthday cake, the store claims it would sell it to them. But the store refuses to make wedding cakes for gay couples, even if the cake doesn't contain any expressive content (a figurine of two guys, or a message in the icing saying congratulations Charlie and Dave).

As you point out, the case raises some tough line drawing questions regarding protected groups and the First Amendment.