"I pretty much came to support him because, as a gay person, I feel like for a large portion of us the left speaks for us, which isn't the truth. Honestly, religious freedom is just as important to everybody in this country...Just because [the gay community has] rights doesn't mean they trump [Phillips'] rights at the end of the day."
Phillips said he has received an outpouring of positive support since the case began. People have sent encouraging emails and have stopped by the shop offering their prayers.
However, Phillips and his family have also received threats and cruel messages throughout the judicial process, he said, noting there was a time when his wife had been nervous about coming to the shop.
"We started getting hate mail, emails that were really vicious and vulgar, and phone calls, death threats," he said. "We are still getting phone calls and emails that are blatantly violent and they are awful, but then you can look around and you can see that we have received a lot of support."
Despite the negative response, Phillips stressed that the two men whose inquiry about the cake had led to the court case would be welcome in his shop any day.
"I serve everybody who comes into my shop… but we don't create every cake for every message people ask me for," he said.
When asked further about this distinction, Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Phillips, said it is a question of the cake's message rather than the customer.
"It's the difference of the what vs the who. For Jack, it is only the what that matters - what are you asking me to create? I think our society will benefit if we accept that distinction."
Tedesco noted that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had told other bakeries that they have the right to refuse to craft a cake with an anti-gay marriage message. These same rights should be extended to Phillips, he said.
"We just have to extend that same tolerance and respect to people like Jack," he said. "I think the most important thing is this decision underscores the need for tolerance and respect, and the fact that people who believe – like Jack does – that marriage is between a man and a woman are good and decent and honorable people who belong in our society."
Tedesco voiced hope that this ruling will lead to a positive outcome in other similar cases and restore a sense of respectful dialogue in the public sphere.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
He noted that the Supreme Court, in its ruling, emphasized "that we need to extend tolerance and respect to people who disagree with us, especially those we disagree with most vehemently."
"It is just an essential aspect to what makes our society great, and I don't want to see us lose it," he said.