DETROIT (WXYZ) — A bakery shop in Detroit owned by a lesbian couple said they received an order to put "Homosexual acts are gravely evil" on a cake.
April Anderson, co-owner of Good Cakes and Bakes, said she fulfilled the order despite her hesitation. They were suspicious that it was an attempted setup.
"I was like, this can't be real," Anderson said.
Her bakery is located in Detroit's Avenue of Fashion commercial corridor. Anderson said adversity has been a lifelong challenge.
"I'm a Black woman. I'm a lesbian," Anderson said. "It's not my first time being discriminated against."
However, Anderson admits she was caught off guard by the order. The customer ordered and paid for the cake online.
The customer left this message for special instructions: “I am ordering this cake to celebrate and have PRIDE in true Christian marriage. I’d like you to write on the cake, in icing, 'Homosexual acts are gravely evil.' (Catholic Catechism 2357)"
Anderson said she initially thought the request was for a Pride cake but thought it was ironic because Pride month is in June. Despite the offensive message, Anderson baked, boxed and got it ready for pick up.
She also wrote words of unity and had a letter attached.
"We wrote on there, 'God is Love and Love is God' because that's what it is," Anderson said. "There was no anger."
We reached out to the man who made the order. His name is David Gordon. He said he is a Christian Catholic and was denied services on the basis of his beliefs.
He sent 7 Action News a statement: *Nota bene: I acted in a personal (non-professional) capacity in placing the Good Cakes and Bakes order in question. My employer has nothing to do with my actions—they did not have any advance knowledge of my personal action. It would be a stark breach of journalistic integrity to suggest in any way they did. Note also that in the original Pridesource article on this matter, the term “alt-right” is slanderously applied to Church Militant. Church Militant is not alt-right. It firmly eschews racism of any stripe. Church Militant is made up of orthodox Catholics, people who believe no more or no less than what the Catholic Church teaches. I am a Catholic Christian. I fall into the “religion” protected class as set forth by governing federal and state civil rights laws. I was denied the services I requested at a place of public accommodation on the basis of the content of my beliefs – this is gleefully acknowledged by the owners of the bakery in the relevant Pridesource article. Good Cakes and Bakes admits that it never had any intention of serving me and making me the custom red velvet cake that I duly requested and paid for. Imagine the umbrage if a homosexual couple arrived at their “wedding” reception to find a Christian baker had made them a “straight” cake. This is fundamentally about fairness and parity, not ideology."
"I really prefer he picked up the cake and read the note." Anderson said. "Maybe we could have had a conversation."
