Why we chose to be "Open to all"

At ANTIDOTE, we believe in being open to all and treating people the way we want to be treated.

True story.  A few years ago a son invited his mom to help him and his fiancé pick out a wedding cake. The mom, Debbie, shared her excitement in a recent TIME magazine essay. Debbie described that her son finding the love of his life was “a source of great joy for me” -  how pleased she was to be part of planning the hometown reception.  Her son invited Debbie to join the couple in Colorado to shop for a cake for their wedding reception. "Like so many mothers before me, I was honored and excited to be a part of this step.” 

The couple did their research, chose a design, flavors, and colors. With Mom along for the ride, the couple arrived at the bakery for their scheduled appointment full of joy and excitement.

What was meant to be a fun and routine part of the wedding planning process turned into a nightmare.

Debbie, shared what happened next. “We walked into the bakery for our appointment. We were motioned to a small table inside the bakery. The owner looked at [us] and [said] that he would not sell [us] a wedding cake [and] would not bake one for [us].”

What happened?

The baker refused to serve them because Debbie’s son was marrying another man; he would not sell a cake to a same-sex couple.

This situation could happen to anyone. Over 40% of Americans have a close friend or family member who is gay, according to the Pew Research Center.

Why not just go to another baker? 

What happens when the person refusing the service is a gas station, bank, insurance company, restaurant, or funeral home. More importantly, once it is ok to single one group out, what’s keeping others from being refused service.

After all, Colorado law states “It is unlawful for a person … to refuse, withhold from, or deny to an individual … because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry, the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities … of a place of public accommodation.”

In order to prevent this from happening to others, the couple decided to take the baker to court. While they won in Colorado court, the case was appealed to the Supreme court. Last month, the court ruled in favor of the baker due to a technicality but stated that “the laws and the Constitution can, and in some instances must, protect gay persons and gay couples.”  Really?

The “Open to all” campaign supports the notion that people should be free to go about their day-to-day lives without fear of being turned away from businesses simply because of who they are. The campaign is about treating people the way we want to be treated.

ANTIDOTE 1848 was among the first who proudly joined 2,000+ businesses across America that are open to all. We hope you’ll join us too.

  -- Abigail + David