Oregon: bakery owners violated civil rights in refusing to make wedding cake for lesbian couple
January 22, 2014
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Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries has ruled that Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a bakery near Portland, violated a non-discrimination law when its owner refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.
Same-sex marriage does not exist in Oregon civil law: by a 57%-43% margin, Oregon voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2004 defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“The state will now oversee a conciliation process between the two parties to see if a settlement can be reached,” The Oregonian reported. “If not, the labor bureau may pursue charges before an administrative law judge.”
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the bakery’s co-owners, maintain that they did not engage in discrimination – they have baked cakes for the couple in the past – but said that they could not bake a cake for a same-sex wedding because it would violate their religious beliefs.
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Further information:
- Sweet Cakes by Melissa violated same-sex couple's civil rights when it refused to make wedding cake, state finds (The Oregonian)
- Oregon investigates bakery for refusing to make wedding cake for lesbian couple (CWN, 2/5/13)
- Sweet Cakes by Melissa
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Posted by: jimr451 -
Jan. 23, 2014 12:52 PM ET USA
It's strange to me that supposedly smart judges can't see the distinction between "not serving someone because of who they are" and "not serving someone because of the situation involved". This is another step toward bullying religion out of public spaces.
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Posted by: normnuke -
Jan. 22, 2014 4:12 PM ET USA
Another proud step for liberals on the road to Nazism.
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Posted by: rpp -
Jan. 22, 2014 4:08 PM ET USA
This is the most charitable thing I can say about this situation. I moved from Oregon to the Midwest two years ago. When asked why I moved, I tell people to Bing/Google "Sweet Cakes by Melissa".
