The argument is a specious one – the guaranteed right to free speech should prevent a Christian baker from being compelled by the government to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

But like any deception, this one falls apart upon close examination, and we hope the U.S. Supreme Court justices see through the initial appeal of such reasoning when they hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Colorado case that has been debated for five years.

This board is among the most passionate advocates of free speech, no matter how ugly the content of the expression. Want to hold a Ku Klux Klan parade? By all means, the government must treat you the same as organizers of the Parade of Lights.

This is a case, however, not about marches and banners or statues and public art, it is a case about goods and services provided to the general public from a storefront open – in theory – to all comers.

Read more at The Denver Post.