Colorado High Court To Decide Whether Cake Decoration Is A Form Of Free Speech
The Colorado Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will hear the case of a Lakewood bakery owner who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition.
Earlier this year, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the cake was not a form of speech. Baker Jack Phillips then appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the state government is forcing him to express messages that go against his conscience and that violate his freedom of speech.
Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act makes it illegal for public places like retail stores to discriminate against protected groups, including LGBTQ+ people.
Phillips went before the U.S. Supreme Court several years ago in another case involving a cake for a same-sex wedding. His was a partial victory when the Court ruled in 2018 that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission posed an anti-religious bias when enforcing the anti-discrimination law.
Denver Asks National Guard For Help With Spike In Migrant Arrivals
Due to a third influx of migrants in Denver, the city has asked for help from the National Guard.
The influx follows a record-breaking trend of migrant arrivals in December last year, with a second wave in May. Denver asked for Colorado’s National Guard last week, but state officials turned the city down since there’s no procedure to call in the Guard without declaring a state of emergency.
According to 9 News, instead of the National Guard, Governor Jared Polis sent 40 civilian staff members to aid with the new influx of migrants and has no plans of declaring a state of emergency.
The city also changed its length-of-stay procedures in migrant shelters, starting yesterday. Now, single adults can stay for 14 days instead of 21, and families with children can stay for 37 days instead of 30. The change started yesterday but won’t affect those who arrived before then.
CDC Discontinues COVID-19 Vaccination Cards
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has stopped printing COVID-19 vaccination cards. KGNU’s Pam Johnson reports.
According to The Associated Press, just shy of one billion cards were printed between the start of the pandemic and May of this year. Because the federal government is no longer distributing COVID vaccinations, the CDC is phasing them out.
Existing cards provided during COVID-19 immunizations will continue to be a valid proof of vaccination.
DIA To Open West Security Checkpoint In February
Denver International Airport (DIA) expects to start using the West security checkpoint in late January.
The checkpoint will have new technology capable of processing 250 people hourly per lane. DIA is the third busiest airport in the country, according to Airports Council International. The number of people passing through DIA is expected to rise to 78 or 79 million people this year – that would break the previous annual record of 69.3 million, which was set last year. As a result, airport officials plan to add 100 gates spread out through four new walkable concourses by 2045.
