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Bakery Who Refused Lesbian Couple A Wedding Cake Found Guilty Of Discrimination

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An Oregon bakery who discriminated against a lesbian couple, that wanted to order a wedding cake, could have to pay up to $200,000. The exact amount will be determined at a hearing next month.

In January 2013, Sweet Cakes refused to sell a cake to Laurel Bowman and Rachel Cryer for their wedding. Bowman told newspapers that one of the co-owners of the bakery told her the wedding would be an “abomination to the lord.”

Laurel-Bowman-and-Rachel-Cryer-01

Bowman filed an anti-discrimination complaint with the state later that year, citing a 2007 law that protects the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individuals.

An administrative law judge has rejected the owners’ contention that they had the right to reject the order, based on their religious beliefs, as the bakery is not a religious institution.

“Oregonians may not be denied service based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law provides an exemption for religious organizations and schools, but does not allow private businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation.”

Charlie Burr

In Oregon, such cases may be heard either before an administrative law judge or taken to civil court. Both sides had had sought a speedy decision in the dispute, but in his order, administrative Judge Alan McCullough found that the facts in the case supported charges of unlawful discrimination.

The couples lawyer, Paul Thompson said

“The entire time, I felt the law was very much on our side because the law is black and white. You cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Paul Thompson

Anna Harmon, one of three lawyers representing bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein disagreed.

“The (administrative law judge) recognized that all of the state’s claims but one were baseless and not supported by the facts of the case. We view this as a partial victory. However, the (judge) ruled wrongly that the Kleins’ right not to design and create a work of art celebrating an event which violates the tenets of their religion is not protected by the Oregon or federal constitutions.

This is a wrong and dangerous result for religious liberty and rights of conscience in Oregon. … Americans should not have to choose between adhering to their faith or closing their business, but that is what this decision means.”

Anna Harmon

The hearing scheduled for March 10 is intended to focus on the amount of damages to be awarded to the couple.

Cryer, 31, and Bowman, 30, were married on May 23, four days after a federal judge ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in Oregon.

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If only the world was as “open-minded” as us… Alas, matters of sexual identity and equal love, often cause so much friction in the rest of the world. Here, find an open dialogue on the issues facing our LGBT community.

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