Posted on 02/15/2015 11:45:31 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
(CNSNews.com) – An administrative law judge in Oregon has ruled against Melissa Klein’s effort to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a lesbian couple after Klein declined to make their wedding cake because of her biblical belief that marriage is the sacred union of one man and one woman. A hearing in March will now determine what fines will be levied against Klein for “damages” suffered by the lesbians.
Attorneys for Klein, owner with her husband Aaron Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, Ore., had sought to have the case dismissed and to be awarded $200,000 in legal costs and damages.
But Judge Alan McCullough refused and instead issued an interim order ahead of the March hearing that says the Kleins had “unlawfully discriminated against the same-sex couple by denying them full and equal access to a place of public accommodation,” under the Oregon Equality Act, according to The Oregonian.
Paul Thompson, the attorney representing the lesbians, told The Oregonian he was happy with the ruling.
But Anna Harmon, one of three attorneys representing the Kleins, said in an email to The Oregonian that the judge’s ruling wrongly interpreted the state law, which she said protects “the right not to design and create a work of art celebrating an event which violates the tenets of [the Klein’s] religion.”
“This is a wrong and dangerous result for religious liberty and rights of conscience in Oregon,” Harmon said.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, posted a Facebook comment about the judge’s Jan. 29 ruling.
“I am outraged that today an Oregon judge ruled against Christian bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes, who refused to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding,” said Rev. Graham. “Aaron and Melissa were simply living up to their convictions—they did not want to participate in the wedding ceremony based on their belief in the biblical definition of marriage.”
“[The Kleins] have been forced to move their business to their home due to harassment from gay activists, and now the fines may completely bankrupt them,” he said. “I pray that they will fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, and that we as freedom-loving Americans would stand behind them with our prayers and financial support.”
Family Research Council President tony Perkins, commenting on the Kleins’ case and other similar battles, said, “Unfortunately for the parents of five, wedding vendors like them may soon have no choice. In the free market, the courts no longer seem to recognize the right to believe what you want. Owners of small businesses like Sweet Cakes by Melissa, Arlene's Flowers, Simply Elegant Wedding Planning, Hands On Originals, and others are seen as nothing more than tools of the government to think and believe as the state sees fit. If they refuse, as Aaron and Melissa have done, Oregon is threatening to bring the full weight of the government to bear.”
That’s so gay.
Nanny State PING!
This judge just discriminated against Christians. What will be his fine?
I think it’s moltov cocktail time...
No, just Chamber Pot time.
Game, Set, Match.
Hang the judge.
How long should we wait before we start dumping tea in the harbor?
Just another blackrobe tyrant saying “to hell” with the first amendment if you’re a Christian.
We’re to understand that bigotry is too dangerous in the hands of individuals, and should be only practiced by our betters in government and in the courts.
The indifference exhibited by the courts regarding these obvious Constitutional violations is beyond disturbing.
Combine that with the other pro homo (anti Constitution) rulings and we have practically no refuge in the courts for anything meaningful.
Drastic actions are all that are left.
For now I’d advise anyone who wants to enjoy religious liberty in the operation of his business to move to Texas or a similar state.
Of course I thought that was a safe option for supporters of natural marriage just 5 years ago so. . .
This SHOULD be a very swift and easy constitutional decision, but Kennedy loses his effing mind when the case involves queers.
Sickening.
If I run a bakery and all my cakes are vegan can someone sue me because they wanted eggs in their cake and I refused to do so?
Remember folks, we now have a supreme court who has ruled that the government can force you to buy something, even if you don't want it.
If now isn’t the time for resistance then it will never come.
Not sure what else to say.
An America that allows things like this to happen is no longer an America that is worth lifting a finger to protect or preserve. This is indicative of a tyranny. A depraved tyranny.
Bake them the ugliest half fallen cake with decoration that resembles the makeup job of a drunken drag queen. In case anyone dares taste it, be sure to include gluten free flour and fat free butter...yummy. oh you don’t like it? So sorry here’s your refund. When they complain on yelp and the like be sure to respond “Barbara I’m so sorry you and your wife were unhappy” the rest of us will understand the code.
No. You see, when you start up a business you give up your constitutional rights.
/s
This is just the beginning. After gay rights are enshrined as civil rights come June when the SC rules in favor of gay marriage expect hate crime laws and the battering ram of PC to come down hard. Open persecution will soon begin. There will be a direct inverse relationship as Biblical Christianity will no longer be tolerated in a PC world. Expect your coworkers and most to shut up and follow along. It’s a well traveled path in the 20th century and not many signs that things will be different here.
And if it doesn't, maybe a few well-armed "patrons" of the establishments could dissuade the fascists from trying to confiscate the property. Or maybe a few of them could visit the queers and show them the error of their ways.
If it's a war they want, it's a war they'll get.
It is time to sunder the nation. I do not want to be part of the same country as Oregon. If Oregon is attacked, and please let it be so, it is not worth the life of one American soldier.
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