Barbara Boland
The Washington Examiner
7/15/2015
The Christian owners of the Oregon “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” bakery had until this past Monday to pay a financially-crushing $135,000 fine for their refusal to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding — but a crowdfunding campaign set up for them has raised $358,500.
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of “Sweet Cakes,” were required by Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian to immediately pay $135,000 from their “personal property” to Rachel Cryer-Bowman and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, the lesbian couple they refused to bake a wedding cake for, to compensate them for emotional damages. If they do not pay the fine, they may face a lien on their home.
The vast sum “has the potential to financially ruin” the family of five, Aaron Klein told The Blaze in an interview.
“For years, we’ve heard same-sex marriage will not affect anybody,”Aaron Klein said. “I’m here firsthand to tell everyone in America that it has already impacted people.”…
…The average donation to the Continue to Give campaign was $45 from 7,821 donors. While many expressed their Christian faith in solidarity with the Kleins, one anonymous donor wrote, “Even as a deist, I respect these baker’s decision to not bake the cake for this couple. It truly would have represented participation in the ceremony by the bakery, which goes against their religious beliefs.
“Several of our founding fathers were deists, but they fully understood how important the freedom to exercise your religious beliefs were to making this the greatest republic in history. This is not discrimination, it is their First Amendment right, which shall not be infringed.”…
The complete article, with video, is at The Washington Examiner.
Related: Court Forces Nuns to Comply With Obamacare Contraception Mandate
…Becket Fund senior counsel Mark Rienzi slammed the decision, accusing the government of “crush[ing] the Little Sisters’ faith and forc[ing] them to participate” in the contraception mandate.
“Untold millions of people have managed to get contraceptives without involving nuns, and there is no reason the government cannot run its programs without hijacking the Little Sisters and their health plan,” Rienzi said.
