Melissa Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in Gresham, talks with a customer on Feb. 5, 2013. (Everton Bailey Jr./staff)
Posted on 10/22/2018 4:09:35 PM PDT by jazusamo
Melissa Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in Gresham, talks with a customer on Feb. 5, 2013. (Everton Bailey Jr./staff)
The owners of a shuttered Gresham bakery fined by the state after refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple want to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lawyers for Aaron and Melissa Klein, the former owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, filed a petition Monday asking the high court to overturn the state's order to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to the couple they turned away.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries imposed the damages in 2015 after finding the Kleins had violated state anti-discrimination law. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the order, and the state Supreme Court declined to hear the case earlier this year.
That leaves the U.S. Supreme Court as the final avenue of appeal, but the odds it will hear the case are long.
The court receives requests to review 7,000 cases each year, but it typically accepts fewer than 150.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado bakery in a similar case.
But that 7-2 decision hinged on the narrow finding that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was hostile to Phillips' religious beliefs, comparing them to slavery and the Holocaust. An opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy said the commission failed to maintain religious neutrality.
The Kleins' attorneys said the Colorado case left unanswered the central question of the case, which they framed as a First Amendment issue: whether the government can force business owners to create a message contrary to their religious beliefs.
"Freedom of speech has always included the freedom not to speak the government's message," said Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty, the Texas-based law firm representing the Kleins. "This case can clarify whether speech is truly free if it is government mandated."
The Kleins closed their bakery in 2016, but they've remained figureheads for the religious liberty movement. Crowdfunding efforts launched in 2015 raised more than $500,000 for them, and they paid the $135,000 damages award into an escrow account as appeals continued.
Kavanaugh would earn his appointment just for tipping the balance for religious freedom in this case and giving a defeat to the arrogant Oregon star chamber.
that’s why I hate liberals and faggots. I thought this case was closed for crying out loud..
It's not closed until freedom wins . . . or until those two evil thugs on the Left die of old age without cashing in on their persecution of the innocent. I'm thrilled to see one more appeal. I pray that Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh will tip the balance back in favor of the First Amendment.
135k to a pair of lesbians because of their mock outrage over a wedding cake? Crazy world this is.
It’s NEVER over for the left, Max.
It sure is a crazy world, the only emotional damage those two lezzies have was caused by themselves.
It’s NEVER over for the left, Max.
##################
Trotsky, Che and Allende would beg to differ, but they can’t. It’s over for them.
Support Free Republic, Folks!
Why is The Red Hen still open after the owner told Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to leave because they didn’t like who see worked for?
Who she worked for.
Are some Individual’s Religious or Political beliefs better than others?
Has the author of the referenced article never heard of the 14th Amendment?
From the 14th Amendment:
"Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
"Section 5: The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
But a more important question is this. Has the current corrupt Congress left over from the lawless Obama Administration never heard of the 14th Amendment?
In fact, consider that all roads of corruption in federal and state governments lead to Congress imo.
More specifically, regardless that the Klein’s case is getting relatively old, note that although Congress has the constitutionally express 14th Amendment power to make federal punitive laws to strengthen constitutionally enumerated protections, laws that discourage anti-religious expression state actors from harassing citizens who express their faith in this example, Congress has stubbornly refused to exercise that power.
The remedy for federal and state lawmakers who don’t respect constitutionally enumerated protections …
Patriots need to finish the job that they started when they elected Trump president.
More specifically, it is now time for patriots to exercise their voting power to fire as many career lawmakers left over from the Obama Administration that they can, replacing them with patriot lawmakers who will not only make federal laws to strengthen the constitutional protections of people like the Kleins, but will also support Trump’s vision for MAGA.
Kavanaugh and at least three other justices would have to agree to take the case first.
The USSC majority which ruled (narrowly) for the Colorado baker basically wrote a blueprint for States to follow if they want to get away with punishing anyone else for “homophobia”.
In the Colorado case, the “Civil Rights Commission” was stupid enough to put anti-Christian hatred in their minutes, so the Court found that their motivation made their decision unacceptable.
The Court basically said to Colorado, “Hey, don’t be so stupid! Keep your anti-Christian hate to yourselves, just vote against discrimination, and you’ll be OK”.
Following that clear set of instructions, I don’t expect any other bakers or florists to win their cases.
My hope is that the recent rulings of the Supreme Court, although hardly definitive, will at least allow them a hearing.
I couldn’t agree more, the entire process was a farce.
Your take is exactly correct. The ruling last year wasn't really a win for the bakers. It was a ruling against the Colorado commission, that felt safe enough in their bigotry to make their bigotry a part of the public record. They know not to do that now.
If you read through the oral arguments on this case, a couple of the judges were begging the attorneys representing the bakers for a way to rule for them that would also be in line with previous rulings on 'public accommodation' laws. The court dug itself a deep hole years back with its rulings regarding what is required under the guidelines of 'public accommodation', and unless it is ready to undo that unholy mess, it really doesn't have many options. For the record, I do not believe the court will address the horrible hole they created.
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