The owners of a bakery are being fined for their decision to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage. They are being forced to pay a fine of $135,000.
An administrative law judge in Oregon said on Friday that the bakers who declined to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple should pay a fine of $135,000. According to the state, the owners of the bakery in Gresham, Oregon have caused mental, emotional, and physical damage in the amount of the fine.
"$75,000 and $60,000, are appropriate awards to compensate [the same-sex couple] for the emotional suffering they experienced," wrote the administrative law judge Alan McCullough.
Back in January of 2013, Aaron and Melissa Klein turned away Rachel Bowman-Cryer after she requested a wedding cake. The Kleins, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, said they served the couple in the past, but could not participate in the wedding ceremony because of their Christian faith. As a result, the Bowman-Cryers complained to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries on the grounds of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Protests and controversy around the issue lead to a shortage of business for the Kleins, who had to close down their bakery. A group of activists drove away clients through harrasment. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Aaron Klein shared that he had to take up a job as a waste disposal worker to support his family of seven after the closure of their bakery. The Kleins' income was cut in half from when they owned the bakery. Friday's announcement of the fine, in which the amount is susceptible to change, may bankrupt the Klein family.
The lawyer representing the Klein family states that there was no expert testimony during the hearing for the case. "The witnesses at the hearing were the two women who were requesting a cake, one of their mothers, one of their brothers and another family member. There was no doctor, there was no psychologist, no expert testimony at all," the attorney told The Daily Signal.
The symptoms that the same-sex couple claim are a result of the denial of service include "acute loss of confidence," "doubt," "excessive sleep," "feeling mentally raped, dirty and shameful," "resumption of smoking habit", "surprise", and "weight gain."
After the Klein family heard of the fine, others set up an online fundraiser at GoFundMe, raising a total of $109,000 before it was shut down by the website.
"After careful review by our team, we have found the 'Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa' campaign to be in violation of our Terms and Conditions," said the website in a statement. "The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal. While a different campaign was recently permitted for a pizzeria in Indiana, no laws were violated and the campaign remained live. However, the subjects of the 'Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa' campaign have been formally charged by local authorities and found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts. Accordingly, the campaign has been disabled."
Organizations spoke out in defense of the Kleins, who they say are being punished for their faith as Christians.
"When our judges are punishing Christians for practicing what they believe, that's persecution, plain and simple," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, a Christian organization that set up a separate fund for the Klein family. All of the funds raised will go directly towards living expenses for the family of seven.
The Kleins commented on the fine, saying that the fine affects them on a personal level. "It's very discouraging. This is not money coming from a business, this is not money coming from an insurance fund, this is money coming straight from our bank account," said Aaron Klein in an interview on Friday with the Family Research Council.
