Melissa and Aaron Klein Will Have to Pay $135,000 in Damages
The owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa have lost their appeal. On Thursday the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the Oregon labor commissioner’s decision that the Christian bakers must pay $135,000 in damages – not for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex couple, although they did, but for emotional and mental distress.
Melissa and Aaron Klein (photo), the couple behind Sweetcakes by Melissa became the face of the Christian right’s persecution claims, sparking a national debate filled with falsehoods and bereft of many facts in the case.
And they benefitted from the misinformation campaign handsomely. Donations poured in. Some reports say the couple were given well over a half-million dollars in donations via crowdfunding sites, but those figures don’t include money sent to the couple directly.Â
The Oregonian reports, “in their ruling Thursday, a panel of state appeals court judges sided with [state labor commissioner Brad] Avakian, saying the Kleins did, in fact, deny the Bowman-Cryers because they were lesbians. The justices also rejected the Kleins’ argument that Avakian’s ruling violated state and federal free speech protections.”
In the ruling, Judge Chris Garret wrote that Avakian’s order does not violate the Klein’s free speech rights because it simply “requires their compliance with a neutral law.” Garrett also wrote that the Kleins “have made no showing that the state targeted them for enforcement because of their religious beliefs.”
In a statement, Avakian said the Appeals Court ruling “sends a strong signal that Oregon remains open to all.”
The Kleins filed their appeal in April of 2016, claiming the judgment against them violated their religious freedom.Â
READ:Â Almost Everything You’ve Heard About The Anti-Gay Sweet Cakes Wedding Cake Case Is (Probably) Wrong
The couple who simply wanted a wedding cake, Laurel Bowman and Rachel Cryer, “became the victims of death threats — as well as outrageous and horrific claims by conservative media outlets and anti-gay groups,” after filing their discrimination claim, as NCRM reported in 2015.Â
The Statesman-Journal adds: “According to a brief filed by the civil rights organization Lambda Legal, when Bowman-Cryer’s mother returned to the bakery to reason with Aaron Klein, he called her daughter and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law ‘abominations.'”
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‘We Feel Like We Shouldn’t Have To Pay’: Sweet Cakes Bakers Say State Order Not ‘Legally Binding’
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