Even though same-sex marriage recently became legal in Pennsylvania, one bakery owner is refusing to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding, citing her religious beliefs.
The Cake Pros, a privately-owned bakery in Schuylkill County, in Eastern Pennsylvania, is under fire after refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex couple.Â
“We have homosexuality in our family and it was a hard decision to make, but in the end when I die and I’m one on one with God I have to stand true to him,” Lorraine Fleming (image), the owner of Cake Pros, told local Eyewitness News.Â
The couple who were denied the cake, Bethany and Jennifer Petrich, are planning the wedding to renew their vows.Â
“When I get my wedding dress I feel like I have to go in and say ‘hey, it’s for a gay wedding. Is that okay?” Bethany Pertich said.
Petrich told WFMZ she wanted to support her hometown, and that’s why she chose the bakery. “We asked her to make us a wedding cake and not marry us. I didn’t understand.”
But the women say things took a not-so-sweet turn when Jennifer’s mom received a phone call. “They had called and said to her that they were a Christian bakery and the owner had talked to Jesus for two weeks and that because it was two females getting married she couldn’t make our cake,” said Jennifer.
Fleming said there is homosexuality in her own family, but the decision, while not easy to make, is based on her religious beliefs.
The Cake Pros has taken their Facebook page down.
Last year, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, after he refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple. After the verdict he said he was willing to go to jail if need be. In May of this year he lost his appeal.Â
No word if the Petriches are planning on suing. Pennsylvania does not have a statewide LGBT non-discrimination ordinance.Â
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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the Petrich’s name. We regret the error.Â
Hat tip: Huffington Post
Image via The Cake Pros