I'm sure at this time that most adults in this country have heard about the bakery owned by Jack Phillips and his refusal to make a wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins. This violation of civil rights has not only sparked a nationwide debate about the 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage, it has also made it's way to the highest court in the United States.

There are many people in this country whom for lack of a better term, have a poor understanding of what religious freedom truly means. When this nation was created, the founding fathers thought it necessary to draw a clear line of separation between church and state. It is not speculation to believe that the reason behind it was to prevent a tyrant from imposing aspects of their religion on others. These architects of the Constitution knew first-hand the mayhem, destruction, loss of life, and human rights violations that inevitably follow when church and state are two sides of the same coin. Many Americans that are against gay marriage, attribute their intolerance of same-sex couples to their religion and their perceived interpretation of the various texts.

The same people that claim to be willing to die to protect the Constitution and the unalienable rights guaranteed to every citizen, seem much too content in denying those same unalienable rights that they enjoy, to others.

The cookie cutter excuse that has been given by many who have committed civil rights violations is almost uniformly the same: "Religion."

Bigots throughout the modern history of this country have hidden behind religion as a politically acceptable excuse to oppress their victims.

The most obvious scenario was slavery followed by the Jim Crow laws that led to segregation.

Many Americans believe that God made other human beings less equal than themselves, despite scientific evidence that our differences are only skin deep. Countless citizens backed by their local government officials like "Bull Connor", and police agencies were even willing to commit murder to prevent African Americans from living in their neighborhoods, going to their schools and eating in their restaurants as equals. Many citizens that were and are pro-segregation, were and still are members the Klu Klux Klan a ( "Domestic Terrorist" organization (Removed from the terrorist watchlist in Feb. 2017) believe it is their God-given duty to spread hate, vitriol and commit various hate crimes to advance the already universal prosperity of the white race in the name of their "God.")

There's no shortage of these hate-based organizations attacking the civil rights of members of the LGBTQ community. In recent years we've seen bills like the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" being used to target the LGBTQ community with laser precision. States like Virginia and Michigan have attempted to pass their own similar legislation, to make it legal for paramedics and hospitals to refuse to treat LGBTQ and or perceived LGBTQ persons during medical emergencies.

However, the decision of the baker to appeal the lower court decision was never about cake. For many, this Supreme Court decision could mean the difference between life and death.

It is no secret that the Klu Klux Klan was instrumental in creating the narrative that a belief in an intolerant God nullifies any human rights granted by the Constitution. Look at the murders of Michael Brown & Trayvon Martin, both of their murderers had a history of racism and were supported financially by the KKK after their cases became national news. The constitutional rights of the victims to live and thrive in their own communities were not validated by the courts proving once again that there are two Americas.

One cannot view the case before the Supreme Court without remembering the long hard road to equal human/civil rights, people of all colors in this country have fought for. To separate the injustices in one community from the other would be a grave and divisive mistake. The United States Supreme Court has a clear cut decision with decades of precedent from civil rights cases to draw from. It is clear that a court above the influence of bigotry can only come to one decision.

Remember that whatever a government is willing to do to it's most vulnerable citizens, it's willing to do to everyone.