Statement of ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes on new marijuana rules passed last night by the Denver City Council

“The ACLU of Colorado is grateful that the Denver City Council ultimately abandoned efforts to recriminalize marijuana possession throughout much of the city and personal use on private property. The Council heard the clear and consistent call from the public to put an end to unnecessary and inefficient over-policing of marijuana.
“Thanks to the Council and the voters who passed Amendment 64, law enforcement resources will not be wasted making small time marijuana busts.
“As other cities around the state consider the definition of ‘open and public,’ we encourage them to recognize, as Denver eventually did, that it does not mean in a pocket, in a home, or on a front porch.”

A Colorado judge today determined that a Lakewood bakery unlawfully discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake.

David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited Masterpiece Cakeshop last year, with Craig’s mother, to order a cake for their upcoming wedding reception. Mullins and Craig planned to marry in Massachusetts and then celebrate with family and friends back home in Colorado. Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips informed them that because of his religious beliefs the store’s policy was to deny service to customers who wished to order baked goods to celebrate a same-sex couple’s wedding.

“Being denied service by Masterpiece Cakeshop was offensive and dehumanizing especially in the midst of arranging what should be a joyful family celebration,” said Mullins. “No one should fear being turned away from a public business because of who they are. We are grateful to have the support of our community and our state, and we hope that today’s decision will help ensure that no one else will experience this kind of discrimination again in Colorado.”

Longstanding Colorado state law prohibits public accommodations, including businesses such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, from refusing service based on factors such as race, sex, marital status or sexual orientation. Mullins and Craig filed complaints with the Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) contending that Masterpiece had violated this law. Earlier this year, the CCRD ruled that Phillips illegally discriminated against Mullins and Craig. Today’s decision from Judge Robert N. Spencer of the Colorado Office of Administrative Courts affirms that finding.

“While we all agree that religious freedom is important, no one’s religious beliefs make it acceptable to break the law by discriminating against prospective customers,” said Amanda C. Goad, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “No one is asking Masterpiece’s owner to change his beliefs, but treating gay people differently because of who they are is discrimination plain and simple.”

Phillips admitted he had turned away other same-sex couples as a matter of policy. The CCRD’s decision noted evidence in the record that Phillips had expressed willingness to take a cake order for the “marriage” of two dogs, but not for the commitment ceremony of two women, and that he would not make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding celebration “just as he would not be willing to make a pedophile cake.”

“Masterpiece Cakeshop has willfully and repeatedly considered itself above the law when it comes to discriminating against customers, and the state has rightly determined otherwise,” said Sara R. Neel, staff attorney with the ACLU of Colorado. “It’s important for all Coloradans to be treated fairly by every business that is open to the public – that’s good for business and good for the community.”

Read the decision

DENVER – Hot Mama, a national retail chain with three locations in Colorado, encourages employees to rely on race as a factor in a theft mitigation policy that instructs them to target “potential thieves” that do not “look like the typical Hot Mama shopper.” The company’s policy further instructs employees to follow these “potential thieves” throughout the store to make them feel so uncomfortable that they leave and never return, according to a complaint sent today by the ACLU of Colorado to the chain’s headquarters.

The store’s written policy acknowledges that some customers will ask “Are you following me because of my race”? The policy advises employees, “Don’t worry about making them uncomfortable.” According to the policy, “That is your goal in this situation. The more uncomfortable they become, the quicker they leave… forever.”

“A retail business has an obligation to train its employees that race is not a proper consideration in identifying and targeting potential shoplifters,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein. “Instead, with subtle and not-so-subtle innuendo, Hot Mama provides encouragement to employees who bring their racial prejudices and stereotypes to the job. Hot Mama’s policy gives the company’s blessing to racial targeting that is forbidden by state and federal anti-discrimination law.”

The ACLU of Colorado learned of the policy from a former Hot Mama manager, who questioned upper management about the racial component of the policy and was told that it was drafted as a response to “problems with black gangs” in Minnesota, where the company is headquartered.

According to Colorado law, it is illegal to refuse or deny a person “the full and equal enjoyment of goods and services” at a public place of accommodation because of race or color.

The ACLU’s letter, which was sent to Megan Tamte, CEO of Hot Mama, urges the company to “rescind its discriminatory policy and initiate company-wide training to ensure that Hot Mama employees no longer rely on race in dealing with customers.” A response is requested on or before December 13.

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