CONTACT:
AJ Shaikh
720-620-0211
aj@test.colgbtqcc.org
Chris Callanan
720-335-3094
chris@test.colgbtqcc.org
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
COLORADO LGBTQ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FIGHTS FOR EQUAL ACCESS TO
GOODS AND SERVICES FOR ALL; CALLS OUT ANTI-LGBTQ GROUP’S TACTICS
Denver, Colorado – March 7, 2024
On February 27, 2024, The Colorado Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ)
Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) submitted an amicus brief urging the Colorado Supreme
Court to affirm the Colorado Court of Appeals’ 2023 decision that Masterpiece Cakeshop
unlawfully discriminated against a transgender woman.
The Chamber is being represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. Notable LGBTQ civil rights lawyer Mary Bonauto, Senior
Director of Civil Rights and Legal Strategies at GLAD, is an attorney representing the Chamber’s
interest. Bonauto successfully argued that State bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional in
front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).
Founded in 1992 during a turbulent year for Colorado’s LGBTQ community following the passage
of Amendment 2, the Chamber (originally the Colorado Business Council) emerged in response to
the state’s ‘hate state’ designation. The Chamber’s mission is to empower economic growth within
the LGBTQ+ business community.
“To advance this mission, we promote commercial practices that ensure our members, and all of
their patrons, including LGBTQ patrons, can prosper irrespective of their status, identit(y/ies), and
expressions,” says Eric Mindykowski, Board Chair of the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of
Commerce.
Masterpiece Cakeshop is being represented by notorious international anti-LGBTQ legal advocacy
group, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Scardina is one of a litany
of cases in which the ADF mobilizes overwhelming financial and legal resources to litigate the
freedom to discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community as part of a nationwide
strategy to erode their civil rights and liberties.
The ADF has escalated numerous consequential cases related to LGBTQ civil rights and liberties,
including U.S. Supreme Court cases such as Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
(2023), Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018).
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates the ADF as an anti-LGBTQ hate group– a
label it shares with the infamous Westboro Baptist Church and others. According to SPLC, the ADF
has, “supported the recriminalization of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ adults in the U.S.
and criminalization abroad; has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; has
contended that LGBTQ people are more likely to engage in pedophilia; and claims that a
‘homosexual agenda’ will destroy Christianity and society.”
“One of the LGBTQ Chambers’ priorities is to defend our members, and their patrons, rights to
participate, compete, benefit, and prosper from economic opportunities afforded to all Coloradans.”
states AJ Shaikh, President and CEO of the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber stands firmly in support of equal access to goods and services for all individuals,
regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic. In light
of the ongoing case between Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. and Autumn Scardina, the Chamber
believes that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) plays a crucial role in ensuring equality
and fairness in the marketplace.
Colorado’s LGBTQ community continues to face alarming discrimination and violence. In
Masterpiece v. Scardina, the ADF seeks to restrict Colorado officials’ ability to enforce LGBTQ
anti-discrimination protections that were enacted by the people to prevent such discrimination. “The
ADF cares about freedom of speech insofar that it is a means to the end they are seeking— to
resurrect and protect the power of anti-LGBTQ advocates to subjugate LGBTQ Coloradans by
excluding them from public life,” Chris Callanan, LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce Board member
remarks.
Throughout history, Americans have battled against discrimination within our public entities and
spaces. When you open your business to the public, it becomes your responsibility to serve protected
groups without prejudice. Permitting discrimination in places of public accommodation would set a
dangerous precedent and would roll back hard fought protections from the Civil Rights era. It is
imperative that we stand firm against any form of discrimination. Let us work together as we move
forward rather than stepping back against progress.
The Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce amicus brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Scardina
can be accessed here. For more information about the Chamber and our commitment to empower
economic growth and equality for LGBTQ Coloradans, please visit our website at
www.test.colgbtqcc.org.
AJ Shaikh
He/Him/HIs
President/CEO
Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce
444 Sherman St, Suite DBC, Denver CO 80203
www.test.colgbtqcc.org
(720) 620-0211