Bake Shop Owners Ordered To Pay $135,000 For Their Religious Beliefs
Robert Gehl
April 26, 2015
We now know the price paid for sticking to your religious beliefs: $135,000.
That’s what a judge in Oregon ordered the owners of Sweet Cakes to pay when they refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding in 2013.
The owners of the bake shop, Aaron and Melissa Klein, said the fine will likely bankrupt them.
The Daily Signal is reporting the dispute started in January 2013 when Rachel Cryer was told Sweet Cakes couldn’t help her because there would be “two brides” at the wedding.
In the order, the judge said:
“[T]he forum concludes that $75,000 and $60,000, are appropriate awards to compensate [the same-sex couple] for the emotional suffering they experienced,” wrote Alan McCullough, administrative law judge for Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries in his proposed order.
The Kleins are both Christians and have said since they believe marriage is between one man and one woman, their religious convictions kept them from participating in the wedding.
After Rachel Cryer and her partner Laurel Bowman-Cryer filed a complaint (instead of just finding another bakery), the state of Oregon went on the attack for the gay couple, who are now married.
The state’s “Public Accommodation Law” bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The couple were found guilty and ordered to pay up.
In order to reach $135,000, Rachel and Laurel submitted a long list of alleged physical, emotional and mental damages they claim to have experienced as a result of the Kleins’ unlawful conduct.
One of the women, whose name was redacted to protect her privacy, listed 88 symptoms as grounds for compensation. The other, whose name was also redacted, listed 90.
Examples of symptoms include “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.”
http://downtrend.com/robertgehl/bake-shop-owners-ordered-to-pay-135000-for-their-religious-beliefs