Melissa and Aaron Klein have been ordered to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple the bakers declined to make a cake for. (Courtesy Sweet Cakes by Melissa)
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a decision that forced two Christian bakers to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple who said they felt “mentally raped” when the bakers declined to make a wedding cake.
“Freedom of expression for ourselves should require freedom of expression for others,” First Liberty Institute president Kelly Shackelford said.
First Liberty, one of the nation’s most prominent religious liberty law firms, represented the Kleins.
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“The Oregon Court of Appeals decided that Aaron and Melissa Klein are not entitled to the Constitution’s promise of religious liberty and free speech,” Shackelford said.
The Kleins, who owned Sweet Cakes By Melissa, made national headlines in 2013 when they declined to make a wedding cake for Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer.
The Kleins were subjected to a homofascist mob that boycotted their business, threatened other wedding vendors and subjected their young children to death threats.
The lesbian couple filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries – leading to a drawn-out court battle and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
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