Oregon Baker Investigated for Refusing Lesbian Couple's Business

It's a possible violation of the state's equality statute

Of Oregon's butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers, it's the middle occupation that's garnering negative press today.

A Gresham, Oregon baker who refused to create a cake for a lesbian couple's wedding based on religious convictions is under investigation by the state's Attorney General, reports the New York Daily News. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is outlawed under the Oregon Equality Act 2007, notes the paper.

Aaron Klein, the proprietor of Sweet Cakes, is unrepentant, admitting he'd rather lose money than contradict his beliefs.

"They've made a choice to do what they're doing," said Klein. "I'm making a choice to not be a part of it."

The lesbian couple in question claim Klein referred to them as "abominations unto the Lord," an allegation that sparked official scrutiny of Klein's business, and that he denies.

Oregon's KATU says the couple refused to speak with them until further legal advice was obtained.

Via the New York Daily News and KATU.

Posted 1:30pm PST.

Should Klein be free to refuse the lesbian couple's business?

[Republican5001]

His business, his right to refuse service to whomever he chooses.

[AceLuby]

"WHITES ONLY"

[jessejaymes]

@AceLuby Nonsense. If his business is posted "we reserve the right to refuse to anyone" he is within his legal rights in EVERY state in America. EVERYONE.

[Leftofliberal]

Ok we only bake cakes Evangelical Christians, no AA's, no Latino's WASP's are ok but
We don't make cakes for any of the follow religious groups they offend me : Baha'i, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism
Orthodox Eastern Church, Protestantism, Catholicism, Shinto.

[GmanGSW]

@jessejaymes That's a fact! I'm outta here, brother, just had to see a few other ppl. Noticed this item, saw your comment. Agree. I'm outta here! Till another day, have a good one!

[Leftofliberal]

@jessejaymes. are you old enough to recall the sit ins of the 1960's?? Greensboro - Woolworth's denial of service to Southern Blacks?

http://www.history.com/topics/greensboro-sit-...
http://library.uncg.edu/dp/crg/topicalessays/...

[Speedieg]

You can not have a business that serves the public and choose which people you serve. His business is to make cakes he should make them and keep his mouth shut.

[stepped_in_it]

Disagree 100%. You can have a business that serves the public and choose to NOT serve some people. Read this in many private businesses "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone". If this causes his/any business to go out of business....it's their business (though not smart).
Now, as for the reasons.....we don't (really) know all the particulates!

[jessejaymes]

@stepped_in_it Absolutely correct. In my view the color I am interested in is GREEN, i.e,. MONEY. So he would be stupid in my view but he perfectly within his rights if his business is posted.

[PNWest]

@stepped_in_it @AceLuby said it best in his earlier post "WHITES ONLY" . The man broke our great state's law and should be prosecuted. He DOES NOT have the right to discriminate under Oregon state law.

[stepped_in_it]

@jessejaymes Green has always been my favorite color also. Does that make us prostitutes?

[stepped_in_it]

@PNWest So...he discriminated against someone of color? HMMM.....thought the article said a lesbian couple....but I might be wrong there! And, right now, we just might have a he said/she's said situation!

[martydotcom]

Today is a lesbian couple, tomorrow it will be people with hair like Donald Trump. The guys I'm retail you serve the public!

[stepped_in_it]

"we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"

[Quantummist]

Biz Does Not Serve the Public.... It's serves the Owners to make a profit to pay their bills and feed their families.... Biz should never be made into social experiment... They sell goods and services to make a profit... If the Public want to buy those goods and services fine, if not they go out of biz... Anti Discrimination laws should Never apply to private non publicly funded biz of any kind... And Yes that should apply to all biz... If a biz gets no public funding then they should be able to discriminate all they wish against anyone they wish.... If a Bar says no gays, blacks, whites ect. fine.. then they can be protested against, publicly ridiculed, refused the use of Other biz support such as Visa, Master Card, refused advertizement in local media ect... If a store that excepts EBT cards (Food Stamps) discriminate they should be banned from excepting such...

Now any biz, company or service provider that receives any Public Funding is a different story, those should be required to follow any and all regulation on discrimination or have that funding cut off if they fail to do so...

My personal view is that to restrict Private companies and Individuals from discriminating is Unconstitutional.... The Constitution was written to protect your Right from the Government... Not to protect Your Rights from the people in general....

[Quantummist]

@stepped_in_it .. should add "Unless we except Public Funding"

[martydotcom]

@Quantummist "biz is linc. by State, and Board of Health. A check of Oregon law to see if they differentiates racial discrimination from sexual orientation or they are they as regarded as the same discrimination.(1964 Civil Rights Act)
Maybe you don't agree, but that's the law. You're in the retail biz you cannot discriminate.

[stepped_in_it]

@Quantummist Bakers and bakery's accept public funding?

[Libertyiskey]

I wonder if that shirt or any article of clothing he's wearing is of mixed fabric making him an "abomination unto the Lord."

[No_Bama]

As long as he had a sign that said, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

[AceLuby]

Lol, a sign doesn't give you permission to break the law. The thought that it could is hilarious.

[No_Bama]

@AceLuby It does if he isn't breaking the law.

[PoliticalSpice]

@No_Bama Read the article again, there is a state anti-discrimination law that applies. Like it or not, he was breaking the law, but religious convictions would be an interesting defense...

[No_Bama]

@PoliticalSpice I've read the law and there is a clause in it for religious institutions and religious convictions. As I've said before, this guy will win this.

[PoliticalSpice]

@No_Bama I never said he wouldn't win.

[FenceSitter K]

Thanks for your comment, Knightmare. When posting a quote or referencing another site, we ask that you please cite your sources and include only a short abstract. Without this proper formatting, posts can be removed due to copyright violation.

Feel free to re-post with the proper formatting.

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[Knightkore]

@FenceSitter Thank you....I will try to remember that for next time....always helpful....

[Realthinker]

Apparently freedom of religion no longer includes the 'free exercise thereof'. Any law that forces a religious person to act against his or her convictions is by definition unConstitutional. Homoxsexuals do NOT have the right to run roughshod over the religious convictions of others in the name of 'fairness'. The real bullies are the homosexuals. Their rights STOP where mine begin. I hope a group like the ACLJ takes up this man's case.

[earl]

Great post, I agree totally.

[DARSB]

"Any law that forces a religious person to act against his or her convictions is by definition unConstitutional."

There are no absolute rights in the Constitution. Snake handling is illegal in West Virginia, and human sacrifice hasn't been allowed since, oh, I don't know, EVER.

[dances-weebles]

your so called 'freedom of religion' ends at the church doors. it has nothing to do with who you sell cakes to. what the man did was wrong... and if we look at it closely we'll find that discrimination for any reason is unconstitutional.

homosexuals aren't 'running roughshod' over anybody at all, nor anybody's religious convictions. please take an honest look at it and you'll see that in the 'name of fairness' the man would bake them the best cake that he's ever made to help them celebrate their wedding day.

[Realthinker]

@dances-weebles Wrong. It doesn't end anywhere. "The free exercise thereof" means anywhere, anytime, any way. In no way can Christians be required by the government to behave in any way that violates their religious principals. That includes paying for thr birth control of perfect strangers, baking cakes or providing photographs for homosexual marriages. Any provision of the Civil Rights Law that requires me to violate my conscinece in any way is unConstitutional.

[Realthinker]

@DARSB "Congress shall make NO law. That would include snake handling, unBiblical as it may be. There absolutely are absolute rights in the Constitution, much as you might wish otherwise.

[No_Bama]

He'll win on religious grounds. Most "Fairnes/Equalty" ordances have execptions for religious organizaion and religious grounds.

[stepped_in_it]

Though not very smart, "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" is very legal as long as the owner doesn't discriminate based on race, sex, nationality, religion, etc. Did this owner discriminate.....depends on the fact that do we have all the information...

[MadAmerican]

Don't tell me how to run my business is basically what he is stating. I think every business owner should have the right to refuse service to anyone.

[thatgirl]

And the media has every right to report on these type of folks.

[MadAmerican]

@thatgirl Sure-and i am sure they will ad the dramatic sensationalism to it at every angle.

[thatgirl]

@MadAmerican Along with a drop in business.

[MadAmerican]

@thatgirl Here in Kentucky when Chick Filet stood their ground against something they believed to be true along the same lines business actually boomed. They ran out of food and people stood in long lines to show support. I'm guessing you are gay and are upset by this but it is his right and you can go elsewhere to get a cup cake. I have nothing against gays and lesbians but it is his store and his business. Violating his religous beliefs is unconstitutional.

[NTBFW]

Do you remember the soup Nazi? NO SOUP FOR YOU!

[No_Bama]

Yep, the gay agenda isn't to force their sick lifestyls on eveyon else, is it?

[Cheenoguy]

I fail to see how making a cake is forcing bigots to be gay. Of course, to the "Christian" right not being able to arbitrarily force mandates from a Bronze Age mythical creature on others while ignoring most of them theirselves is "forcing" something on them. I'm beginning to think that allowing the south to secede and take tea party folk with them is the only way the rest of us avoid having out country drug into the 3rd world.

[No_Bama]

@Cheenoguy Of course not, nowhere did I claim that they were forcing anyone to be gay. Where did you get this crazy assumption?

BTW, Do you not see the irony (and hypocrisy) in calling someone a bigot then turning around and making bigoted, derogatory statements about Christians, the Tea party and the south in general? More "do as we say, not as we do" from the left.

[Libertyiskey]

@No_Bama And then you turn around and make more bigoted, derogatory statements about "the left." You're contributing to the polarization of this country and allowing this two party system to destroy America.

Next time, try to explain your beliefs calmly and logically without insults, the other person wasn't right either and should follow that advice as well, your not going to win anyone over when you continue to allow for the extreme polarization of this country. George Washington warned us of this in his final speech in office, head his advice.

[No_Bama]

@Libertyiskey I did nothing of the sort. Care to point out where I made "bigoted, derogatory statements" as you claim? If not, I'll be waiting for your apology.

[Libertyiskey]

@No_Bama "more 'do as we say not as I do' from the left" You are grouping a whole ideology of people as hypocrites, so there you go deragatory.

[SmedleyButler]

If it's against his religious conviction to create something like this, he has that right. Is he the only bakery in town? I think this is about their 15 minutes of fame. What if he screwed up their cake, and put something on it that they thought was offensive ? Would they have grounds of discrimination too?

[AceLuby]

"Thou shalt not make cakes for homosexuals"

That's one of the 10 commandments, right?

[cpeter133]

Businesses don't have religions. Unless this store is unincorporated, the STORE is required to follow the law. If it is unincorporated, then he will be personally liable for any fines or actions taken, which is a REALLY stupid business practice.

[harold_lloyd]

@cpeter133
If corporations are people, why can't they have religions?

[cpeter133]

@harold_lloyd For the same reason they can't vote.

[harold_lloyd]

@cpeter133
Except for the fact that I don't know of any corporation has tried to register, why can't a corporation vote?

Corporations have a right of free speech, so we know that the constitution applies to them. Corporations pay taxes. Corporations have the right to petition government for redress of grievances.

What happens when some lawyer makes a case for giving corporations the vote?

(...and please, God, I hope I haven't started something...)

[frigginhell]

Wow, he just got a ton of free press that will most likely bring out more support from one bunch of crazies than the business he'd lose from the other bunch of crazies. Quit reporting it, let them sue him and move on. Otherwise you're not doing anyone any favors. Well, except for the bigot.

[Libertyiskey]

That is exactly what happens, its like a sick cycle.

[Libertyiskey]

It's his right, doesn't mean I agree with him, but it is also the lesbian couple's right to sue, doesn't mean they'll win but we'll see who the courts decide is within their rights.

[morphine-bunni]

i'm all for equality and gay rights, but it's his own, personal choice who he wants to cater to and how he wants to conduct his business. is that him in the picture.?

[bsking]

Okay so lesbians claim he called them an abomination, which he denys, and mrs. and mrs.lesbian won't comment further until they talk to a lawyer... sounds like they're trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

And at this point do they really want him to make a cake for them ?

;-0

[NormalFlora]

Another loving evangelical bigot disguising his redneck intolerance as "freedom of religion." If he wants to be trailer trash, Oregon is definitely NOT the state for him!!!

[SavageMazx]

Um have you seen Oregon lately?

[NormalFlora]

@SavageMazx Well, I was thinking he belongs in the swamps around Shreveport.

[Jet_Silverman]

Many fundamentalist Christians are against inter-racial marriages. And if I were going to get married, and one told me god had separated the races, I'd just take the thousand dollars it takes to get a wedding cake some place else. Then rub it in his face later. I do hope this horrible person goes out of business for his homophobia.

[RoFroh]

You are not required to give a reason for denying one service.....he should of left his reasons out and just simply said no that he was too busy....saved himself a lot of lawyer fees!!!

[PayThatCEO]

Even if it's his right, why would someone make such an issue out of it? I thought small businesses were having a tough time of it? Why would anyone turn down paying customers?

America is becoming a sad place, so filled with hatred and division. It's like we, here in this country, MUST have something or someone to hate in order to exist. It's what we seem to breath. Could we ever become more miserable and discontent?

One day, if we keep this up, the division will eventually get around to you and me. It's inevitable. I wonder what we'll say then?