Oregon Bakers Must Pay Fine by Monday
The state’s assault on the Oregon bakers who declined to make a cake for a lesbian wedding isn’t over. Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the now-shuttered Sweet Cakes by Melissa, to pay their $135,000 fine by Monday, July 13 … or else. “We have asked that they get in touch with us by July 13th either to make a payment in full, or an arrangement for partial payment, or as they know, they can contact our agency and seek what is called a stay of enforcement,” BOLI said through a spokesman. If the Kleins seek a stay but are denied, they can appeal through the Oregon courts, but given the thorough smackdown they’ve already received a reprieve is unlikely. “Basically,” said Aaron Klein, “the state of Oregon is saying we can kick you out of your house and make you homeless. They have no qualms about the fact that they’re doing this to my five kids as well.” That’s because the Kleins committed the ultimate sin of crossing the Rainbow Mafia. The good news is the couple has raised more than $200,000 through a funding campaign (their first fundraising effort was shut down by GoFundMe, which claimed the Kleins’ purpose was “discriminatory”). The bad news is their income has been halved since being forced to close their bakery. Aaron now works as a garbage collector to put food on the table for his family.
They won’t find any sympathy from Democrats. “Love is love and now everyone in America enjoys the protection of the United States Constitution when it comes to who they choose to marry legally,” declared DNC Chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “You shouldn’t be able to turn people away based on who they are.” And that kind of lie is exactly why the Kleins are under assault by the state. They didn’t turn anyone away “based on who they are.” They simply declined to take part in a ceremony they believed to be at odds with their deeply held religious beliefs.