Oregon Judge Rules Against Christian Bakery for Refusing to Make Cake for Gay Wedding

Sweet Cakes by Melissa Could Face up to $200,000 in Fines and Damages

By Rachel Alexander Published on February 4, 2015

In Oregon, another lawsuit involving a gay wedding cake is winding its way through the legal system. In 2013, Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, located in the small community of Gresham, declined to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple because it violated their Christian views against same-sex marriage.

There was a huge uproar from the gay community, with protests, boycotts and even death threats made toward their small children. Finally, the couple shut down their retail business and moved their business into their home.

The Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries started an investigation, and on January 29, an administrative law judge issued a 52-page decision finding that the Kleins had discriminated against the lesbian couple. Co-owner Aaron Klein spoke to Todd Starnes of Fox News about the situation. “They’re trying to push us into the closet for being Christians,” he said. Klein intends to continue fighting.

Many are concerned that taking this expansive view of “discrimination” encroaches on religious liberty and leads down a slippery slope. If bakers must make cakes for gay weddings, what is next? In another developing case, for instance, a baker is under investigation for refusing to make an anti-gay cake.

Read the full story by Todd Starnes, which includes a list of businesses that are also facing discrimination accusations for declining to service gay weddings.

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