Melissa and Aaron Klein are refusing to pay $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple whom they denied service based on religious objections
Posted on 10/01/2015 8:23:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The owners of an Oregon bakery are refusing to pay state-ordered damages to a lesbian couple after a dispute over a same-sex wedding cake, reports say.
Aaron and Melissa Klein, who own Sweet Cakes by Melissa, were ordered by the Bureau of Labor and Industries to pay $135,000 to Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, reports OregonLive.com.
The Kleins have filed an appeal of the ruling, claiming financial hardship even though crowdfunding efforts have raised more than $500,000 for the couple, according to OregonLive.com.
Herb Grey, a lawyer representing the Kleins, tells Reuters the couple has raised far less than $500,000, but he would not say how much has been raised.
"They continue to stand on their well-established constitutional rights to live and work based on their values and beliefs," Grey said. "Religion is a protected class just like sexual orientation is."
Their refusal to pay damages has resulted in the state going to court to obtain a property lien against the Kleins.
(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...
Degeneracy rewarded virtue punished. How long are we going to tolerate this type of state conduct?
Looks like Aaron and Melissa Klein aren’t taking this lying down. They’re not licked yet!
The bureaucrats who sit on these star chambers have names and addresses.
The Federal government used to know that.
They will lose on that claim.
They should ask for a determination on how the fine was arrived at and for comparable cases where fines of this size were assessed against similar sized companies for a minor inconvenience.
"Cruel and unusual", "excessively punitive" both come to mind.
Note to lurkers: Yes it is "minor" they could have gotten their cake from any number of other bakeries. The couple sought these people out just for this purpose.
In neighboring Washington, teachers had a week-long illegal strike. The judge threatened a $2000/day fine on the seventh day. In that case we have literally thousands of kids (actually) harmed and the result is $2000 fine, while in the other we have a couple who shopped for media worthy outlet to bring down, with the result being $135,000 fine for NO HARM. Life in America is making less and less sense.
Good. They should refuse to pay, and kill anyone who tries to come collect.
We need to use the term “SOCIOECONOMIC FASCISM” more.
The gov’t is using FORCE to require these people to abide by their SOCIAL RULES.
We have the names and addresses of the bureaucrats who sit on these star chambers.
They should have to show $135,000 in damages too. The whackadoodle lesbos probably can’t. Good luck finding a venue that will overturn the gay judge who lowered the boom on them.
People are going to start paying these fines off in lead before long. In the long run, lead is lighter than gold if you package it correctly. It gets there quicker, but it doesn’t spend the same.
The Fascism is here.
I’m glad no one cares. :)
One of leading bureaucrats responsible for this immoral persecution is Administrative Law Judge Alan McCullough, who works for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. He is a shockingly evil person, and the minimum response any decent person can give to his abuse of the innocent would be to shun him and his family. There is no legal response (if "legal" even has a meaning under a government that protects thugs like him) I can imagine that is excessive, and not many responses of any kind would be going too far.
Fight!!!
We’re with you!!
A general question to those more knowledgeable than I regarding the Constitutional Law
The first amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF;...
It seems to me that means that Gov’t cannot force anyone, or any business, from their devotional religious beliefs, be their religious practices lackadaisical (like me) or to very devoted in practice (like this couple)
So when Gov’t / SCOTUS decides that a law is valid, though in opposition to ones religious devotion, doesn’t the 1st Amendment still prevent Gov’t from superseding that religious practice (and perhaps the 10th Amendment as well)?
Ummmm???? Maybe that is why the founders wrote the Second Amendment? Ya think?
Their justification for their losses was posted here once, it was laughable.
I think the Crowdfunding site kind of blew whatever "financial hardship" argument they may have had right out of the water. Better to stand on principle and refuse to pay on religious grounds.
Forever!
We’ve been tolerating genocidal abortion, endless generational welfare to protected classes, endless “immigrants” foreign to our culture, language & religion, higher & higher taxes, shameful employment & hiring manipulation to “push” certain types of people, and a culture of complete corruption at every level of gov’t for the past 50 years or more.
This won’t change anything.
MEANWHILE, the Lesbians will conceive, and start their happy family. The local sperm bank has a donation for them, so that they can FEEL like a normal couple. Oregon must be right proud of these Gleeful Lesbians.
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