In what I’m calling the “Battle of the Cakes”, The Satanic Temple has joined the fighting. They released the following statement this week:

“Our organization has received a lot of concerned messages from people who are upset by the prospect of an environment in which the LGBTQ community are openly and legally treated as second-class citizens. The laws of the United States require that no one may discriminate by way of refusal of service against an evangelical theocrat for their religious beliefs, but the evangelical theocrat may discriminate against LGBTQ people because of who they are. Because religion is a protected class, a baker may refuse service to LGBTQ people, but they may not refuse service based upon someone’s religion. If they aren’t willing to make a cake for same-sex unions, let’s have them make a cake to honor Satan instead.”

The Satanic Temple raises an interesting argument, but their point is wrong.

I don’t think people shouldn’t be able to force a baker or any artist to create something they wouldn’t make for anyone else. Jack Phillips, the Oregon baker whose case is going to the Supreme Court next month, doesn’t make Halloween-themed cakes, and no one is trying to get him to bake the hideous cake in the photo.

But if a baker asked a couple where they were getting married, and the couple said, “At our local Satanic Temple, federal laws REQUIRE baker to make the cake for the Satan-loving couple. A baker can’t discriminate on the basis of the religion of his customers.

Maybe the better solution in all of this is for bakers to stop being so nosy. In order to make a multi-tiered cake, does the baker need to know the cake’s ultimate use? Maybe it’s time for a new Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.