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 Kleins 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 judges 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 Kleins] 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 judges 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 convictionsthey 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.
yes
Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
Isaiah 3:9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
2 Peter 2:13b Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5. if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6. if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7. and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9. if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11. yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
But there IS hope!!!
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...
No last name listed, but it sure seems like Melissa. Scripture verses and all. I am going to email her and see if this Melissa Klein and if so, I am sending her some “dough”. Thanks for the info.
They have long ago decided. The opinions of our modern federal judiciary have nothing to do with what is the law, or what is sane and rational, they have to do with whatever their current preference happens to be, and they are wholly immersed in this vile modern culture.
As a commenter at "Instapundit" noted when the voters in California voted down "gay marriage", "Why don't we just save a lot of time and ask Justice Kennedy what he thinks?"
It is my opinion that they are going to impose a draconian policy of intolerance for people not willing to accommodate homosexuality. No one will be allowed to dissent because dissenting makes them "Untermenschen", and therefore unprotected by the law.
Indeed, they mean to come down on "intolerant people" with the full force and both jackboots of the law. Trying to ameliorate or avoid this confrontation is just naive.
BTW, do you know if Kipling was a Christian or a Muslim?
I would assume Kipling was a Christian but even if he were not, you can't demean wisdom just because it comes from an undesirable source. I think the old saying is "res ipsa loquitur".("It speaks for itself.")
I agree, seems our judges have crossed over to the wrong side and we are living under judicial tyranny for now. They ignore the Constitution and the will of the people, but tyranny only lasts as long as the people allow it.
I would assume Kipling was a Christian but even if he were not, you can't demean wisdom just because it comes from an undesirable source. I think the old saying is "res ipsa loquitur".("It speaks for itself.")
I agree sometime things do speak for themselves regardless of the source. I didn't mean to demean Kipling's wisdom. I was only checking as to how well you knew Kipling's religious preferences. It appears from most accounts he would not be pinned down and no one really knows for sure. But in some of his writings he did refer to the teachings of Allah and Islam as his preference at one time. Thanks for the reply.
Apparently if I go into business I automatically convert into a slave of the whole world.
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