Baker Melissa Klein, of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, Oregon, is facing a $150, 000 lawsuit over the forced closing of her business due to backlash stemming from her refusal to make a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding, various media sources reported.
In January 2013, Sweet Cakes By Melissa refused service to a lesbian couple who wanted to buy a wedding cake. The confrontation between the two sides received national media attention, followed by a state investigation for anti-gay discrimination. It turned out that the PC troops were further irate because Melissa and her husband Aaron baked cakes for group of ex-homosexuals.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
The couple is now fighting a $150, 000 lawsuit from the state of Oregon, and Melissa recently Klein broke into tears when she described her ordeal during the Values Voter Summit.
The Values Voter Summit is an annual political conference for American social conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.
“For me personally when I would sit down with them, I just would want to know everything about her wedding, ” an emotional Klein told the audience. “I’d want to know about the flowers, her dress, the centerpieces, her colors, the way her hair is going to be. I would even want to talk about ‘where are you going on your honeymoon?'”
Following outrage over their “anti-gay” policy, Sweet Cakes By Melissa eventually had to shut down. She is still taking small orders from home, but says her career has been destroyed by the conflict.