PORTLAND, Ore. – The former owners of a Gresham bakery found guilty of discriminating against a lesbian couple have now been told to pay their big fine by Friday.
Melissa and Aaron Klein have been ordered to pay the couple $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for their wedding.
The decision from Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian also slaps a cease-and-desist order on the Kleins, banning them from advertising their beliefs. The couple contends the ruling is too broad and violates their First Amendment rights.
“In a sense he is telling me, Aaron Klein, a private citizen, that he can tell me to never speak of this again or I’ll be guilty of breaking his cease-and-desist order. That breaks the First Amendment,” Aaron Klein said.
“We’re not going to be silent either,” said Melissa Klein. “We’re not going to stop talking about our faith, and we’re not, I mean, that’s a part of our life.”
The Kleins say they plan to appeal the judgement against them. But in the meantime, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries isn’t backing down either, threatening to put a lien on their house if the couple doesn’t contact them about payment.
The bureau also issued a statement that reads in part, “There is no gag order preventing the Kleins from voicing their disagreement with the ruling or their opposition to anti-discrimination laws. … The Sweet Cakes decision directs them to pay damages and refrain from discriminating against future customers.”
I’d hack off both their heads before I gave them 135 G’s.
“I can’t pay the lawsuit, your honor. The plaintiffs have no heads.”
Then make a cake with two little figures on it with no heads.
screw that! Close the business and start a different one.
Welcome to the land of the slaves, home of the supressed.
Agreed Jolly. And who does this commissar think he is? He is a bureaucrat with no authority to force anyone to do anything. He needs the noose real bad.
Where can we send donations for either the appeal or the fine?
When is Wally world going to pay that guy for refusing to bake a confederate flag cake?
They have had their First Amendment rights violated. Time to put the Second Amendment into action. Enough is Enough.
They should have and still should file in a federal court. The state courts do not recognize the Constitution for the US and are not obligated the rule on those principals. The federal courts are bound by Article 3. They should sue the judge, clerk, Avakian, and the couple for violating thier unalienable rights. If you want the rule of law, you have to show them what it is. Never sue the organization or corporation, you will rarely win, but suing the parties individually has a much higher chance of success