(LifeSiteNews) — A devout Christian baker in California filed a request to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect her right to create custom-designed wedding cakes that reflect her faith.
Cathy Miller, owner of Cathy’s Creations and Tastries in Bakersfield, California, has endured almost a decade of the state targeting for her 2017 decision not to bake a cake for a lesbian “wedding” because of her Christian faith.
Miller said she believes “wedding cakes must not contradict God’s sacrament of marriage between a man and a woman.”
“My love for Jesus Christ calls me to serve others with joy and compassion, and Tastries has been my way of answering that call for over a decade,” Miller said. “I’m asking the Court to end California’s harassment once and for all. All I want is to serve my neighbors as the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls me to without being forced to create messages that violate my beliefs.”
Cathy Miller, a devout Christian baker, asked the Supreme Court to protect her right to create custom-designed wedding cakes aligned with her faith. After nearly a decade of California punishing Cathy’s religious beliefs about marriage, it’s time for the Supreme Court to let… pic.twitter.com/HRrpNu7Gl8
— BECKET (@becketfund) August 27, 2025
“For eight long years, California has treated Cathy like an enemy — dragging her through court, smearing her name, and trying to force her to violate her faith,” said Adèle Keim, senior counsel at Becket, one of the law firms representing Miller. “Enough is enough. We’re asking the Court to put a stop to this bullying campaign and let Cathy design in peace. Justice demands no less.”
“California is forcing Cathy to surrender her faith to the state’s political agenda, taking away her ability to operate her business in alignment with her values and bring joy to others through her talented work,” said Charles LiMandri, partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP and Thomas More Society special counsel. “Despite Cathy’s initial victory, appeals by the State of California have now left Cathy’s religious freedom rights hanging in the balance. We are hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will recognize this injustice and restore her right to live out and practice her faith.”
Miller’s long legal battle with the state stems from a 2017 incident in which lesbian “couple” Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio sought to commission a “wedding” cake from Miller’s bakery. When Miller refused due to her Christian belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, the pair filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
“Everyone is God’s creation, and I love everyone,” Miller previously explained. “But there are certain things that violate my conscience, and my conscience will not allow me to participate in things that I feel are wrong. Most of what that’s based on is scripture.”
Years before the request from the lesbians, Miller had created a list of “design standards” in consultation with her Baptist pastor after receiving vulgar requests for custom work.
“For example, Miller will not design cakes that celebrate divorce, display violence, glorify drunkenness or drug use, contain explicit sexual content, or present gory, demonic, or satanic images,” Miller’s January 2024 filing stated, adding that she “also will not design cakes that demean any person or group for any reason, or that promote racism, or any other message that conflicts with Christian principles.”
It was in keeping with those design standards that Miller rejected the request to bake a “wedding” cake for the homosexuals.
Miller’s plight mirrors that of Colorado Christian baker Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop who has similarly undergone more than a decade of litigation that began with his 2012 refusal to bake a cake for a homosexual “wedding.”
Phillips won his case in a narrow ruling in 2018, and late last year won another legal battle after a man claiming to be a woman sued him for refusing to create a blue and pink “gender transition” cake.
