(AP) – Defiant Oregon bakers fined $135,000
for their 2013 refusal to make a cake for a lesbian wedding reportedly
vow to “fight back” against the state labor commissioner’s stiff penalty – and
are calling on “Christians … to take a stand.”
“For years, we’ve heard same-sex marriage will
not affect anybody,” Aaron Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, told
The Blaze.
“I’m here firsthand to tell everyone in
America that it has already impacted people. Christians, get ready to take a
stand. Get ready for civil disobedience.”
Oregon’s Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian on
Thursday issued a final ruling in the contentious discrimination case, ordering
Klein and his wife and co-owner Melissa Klein to cut a check for the money to
Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer for refusing to bake them a cake for their
same-sex nuptials.
“This case is not about a wedding cake or a
marriage,” Avakian wrote, according to The Oregonian.
“It is about a business’s refusal to serve
someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is
illegal.”
Oregon’s Equality Act of 2007 prohibits
businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation and other
characteristics.
Aaron Klein told The Blaze he’s got no
intention of taking the order lying down.
“Avakian wants to silence anyone who opposes
his point of view,” Klein told The Blaze.
“Unfortunately, he’s doing this with the wrong
Christian, because I fight back.”
Klein told The Blaze he and his wife will seek
a stay in court to delay the order, which he said requires them to immediately
pay the couple refused a cake by the bakery. He also said the couple would
likely file an appeal.
“It has the potential to financially ruin our
family … [Avakian] knew that full well going into this,” Klein said of the
hefty fine. “He did not seek business assets, he sought personal property.”
The fine comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s
decision to sanction same-sex marriages nationwide, and Aaron Klein charged,
“This situation right here flies in the face of the Constitution at every
level.”
Avakian’s order also prohibits the Kleins from
advertising that they’ll refuse to make cakes for same-sex weddings in the
future, The Oregonian notes. That gag order, Klein tells The Blaze, is in
violation of his First Amendment rights.
“This guy has been biased from the get-go,
from the original statement that he said that he needed to rehabilitate us,
then he turned around and refused to get out of the game even though he was in
collusion with Basic Rights Oregon,” Klein told The Blaze, referring to a gay
rights organization.
“He then did a final order where he stripped
me of my First Amendment rights, which would be my religious and free speech
rights.”
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/oregon-bakers-christians-civil/2015/07/03/id/653402/
Source:http://www.teaparty.org/oregon-baker-christians-get-ready-civil-disobedience-105990/
Comments
The Oregon case goes over the top. We should all look at our own State laws to
make sure that Gays are NOT a protected class. This is about businesses being
set up for abuse when no harm was done by taking a pass on a customer
order. Let the customer go to another
bakery. Businesses are already harassed by government knit-picking enough to
discourage anybody from opening a business. A law suit settlement or a fine
should reflect real damage or financial loss.
Businesses need to be protected from predatory behavior. Tolerance is a
two-way street. Many businesses open to cater to particular clienteles. I’m sure
the Marxist activists are planning to send LGBT applicants to demand jobs at
Hooters. Just like Muslims, Gays are running the risk of being categorized as a
predatory sub-culture.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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