Oregon is saying that a bakery that refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple broke the law.
Christian News reports:
State investigators in Oregon have concluded that a bakery run by a Christian couple unlawfully discriminated against a lesbian last year when it declined to make a ‘wedding’ cake for her same-sex ceremony.
As previously reported, Aaron and Melissa Klein operate Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, which is now operated from the couple’s home after the Kleins’ shut their doors due to harassment. In January 2013, Aaron was approached by a mother and her daughter as the two were interested in a cake for the daughter’s upcoming wedding—to her lesbian partner…
The Oregon Attorney General’s office soon launched an investigation against the Klein’s as the state’s non-discrimination laws prevent public accommodations from being denied to any individual on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex [or] sexual orientation.”
On Monday, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) announced that it had concluded that the Klein’s broke the law when they declined to make the cake.
“The investigation concludes that the bakery is not a religious institution under law and that the business’ policy of refusing to make same-sex wedding cakes represents unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation,” it wrote in a press release.
The case will now move to a conciliation phase to work toward a settlement, but if an agreement cannot be reached, BOLI warns that “the bureau may bring formal charges and move the issue to BOLI’s Administrative Prosecution Unit.”
I think they mean the “persecution unit.”
