Posted on 07/03/2015 7:28:21 PM PDT by xzins
An Oregon official certified a ruling Thursday imposing a $135,000 fine against Christian bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.
The official then ordered the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa not to speak publicly about their conscientous decision to follow their religious beliefs by not baking any cakes for same-sex weddings.
The company has gone out of business due to the legal battle.
An article by The Daily Signal, a publication of the Heritage Foundation, states that Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein to "cease and desist" from openly professing that they won't serve gay weddings because of their Christian beliefs.
Avakian cited an Oregon state law in his ruling:
"The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby orders (the Kleins) to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published … any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations … will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination be made against, any person on account of their sexual orientation."
On their Facebook page, the Kleins responded:
"This effectively strips us of all our First Amendment rights. According to the state of Oregon we neither have freedom of religion or freedom of speech."
The Kleins say they will appeal the ruling.
It was the very next article posted here on FR
3 lovely words for that judge.....GO TO HELL.....
Judges have become dictators, they can all go to hell.....
It’s fun to force people to do things against their will. Soon, our side will return the favor.
Judge Avakian supports slavery.
The baker could always adjust the "tooling charge" depending on what the happy couple drove up in.
Mercedes $20,000
Buick $5,000
Range Rover $40,000
Used Pick-up $3,000
As Rush stated, they should say they can’t bake the gay cake because they fear Muslim backlash or they might offend Islam.
I was thinking more along the lines of the old joke about the woman who was amenable to the proposition of having sex with someone for a million dollars, but was offended when offered ten. If the baker will abandon his religious principles for money, the amount is irrelevant.
Businesses lost the right to discriminate on religious grounds in the first public accommodation civil rights laws more than 50 years ago. These laws are simply broadening the scope of who’s protected. And it will continue to grow to anyone who can get 50.1% of the legislature or court behind them.
The baker could always just outsource the cake to another baker willing to compromise his principles.
True. In fact, he could do this simply by refusing to do business with the gay cake-buyer without providing any reason at all for his refusal.
There is a huge piece of me that agrees with you. There’s another side of me that realizes 135,000 dollars could totally break most American families. It should be an extremely difficult thing for us to ask martyrdom of another Christian family. We can rejoice when they do so, but we should be understanding when they are crushed and give in. I think for most of history, the worst torture was always having the lives of one’s loved ones threatened with torture.
You are right. I would not expect most people to do what this man has done, but I do wish that he had simply refused the job without explanation. Trying to justify one’s actions, even when they are justifiable, often leads to more trouble than otherwise.
I agree that moving is good advice: they should try Texas or Louisiana, maybe?
While this command applied to the apostles, just maybe the fleeing part would work for other Christians too.
Matthew 10
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
When they passed no smoking in bars and restaurants in Ohio, many commentators suggested that a club that one had to join was the legal way around the dilemma. Many bar owners considered it. I don’t know what the final breakout was. What it boiled down to was your joining a club and the sign-up included agreeing to a set of principles, standards, and non-accountability statements. Then you were able to gain entry and smoke and drink. The bar was no longer liable, since each club member had agreed to their set of principles.
In American business, we have Sam’s Club that also has a sign-up.
I envision this same format for bakers, florists, etc. A baker could be a simple bakery, but customers who wished could sign up for a “wedding club” or “special events club” that was advertised by the bakery. Without being a member of that club who had agreed to principles and non-liability statements, there would be no wedding cakes that were ever produced by that bakery. Those decorations would always be from a separate entity....a club that one could choose to join or not join.
What's need next is mass civil disobedience. I often wonder if self proclaimed conservatives really have the commitment to this. The left sure has and it's proved successful for them. Don't get me wrong, I am not arguing the merits of their case, only the fact that their strategy was successful. To it's detriment, but to the delight of liberals, the country has drifted far left. I can only pray that we are able to recover.
A real commitment to civil disobedience means defying these "laws" and orders from the Feds even if it means arrest, imprisonment and financial loss (i.e. loss of job or job opportunity). The left was willing to pay the price and they got their way. Are we up to it to?
Things to ponder this 4th of July 2015.
This is a direct result of the absence of separation of powers. The 'official' is acting in what is referred to as a 'quasi-judicial' capacity. Yet he's part of the executive branch of Oregon government.
The executive executes the law, but the legislature writes laws and the judiciary rules on those laws. End administrative law and gain liberty.
Let's get back to the Constitution.
Just to keep you all updated, I checked on the funding site for the Kleins just now, and they are at 75% of goal. I didn’t expect much activity on a holiday, but people are still making donations about 1 every 4 minutes or so.
Thanks to all who have supported the Kleins by prayers, donations and simply spreading the word that they need help.
This is why I continue to say that there is NO SUCH THING AS A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT, to vote Democrat you are agreeing with rulings like these, and the removal of crosses from vet cemeteries etc, not to mention they are simply spitting on Christ, celebrating abortion gay marriage etc, and are just fine with the removal of God/Christ prayer from classroom public square.
If people that claimed to be Christian voted Republican, abortion would be illegal, homosexuals would be in the closet were they belong, gay marriage would NOT be the law of the land, there would be prayer in schools etc.
I am supposed to be moved by the forgiveness offered in Charleston, but these same people have zero problem voting for all the evils I mentioned, I would not attend such a Church.
Forcing someone to labor for someone else is slavery by definition. Fining them for not laboring for them is fascism by definition.
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