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Christian Baker Fined & Silenced


Luigi

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State Silences Bakers Who Refused to Make Cake for Lesbian Couple, Fines Them $135K - Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian finalized a preliminary ruling today ordering Aaron and Melissa Klein, the bakers who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to the couple they denied service. In the ruling, Avakian placed an effective gag order on the Kleins, ordering them to “cease and desist” from speaking publicly about not wanting to bake cakes for same-sex weddings based on their Christian beliefs.

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They are no longer legally allowed to speak out.
DAILYSIGNAL.COM
 
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I find it odd, and possibly illegal, that a state labor commissioner can take away a freedom guaranteed to all citizens in the Bill of Rights. 

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Emotional damages of $135,000 because they were refused a cake? I wonder how they figure emotional damages...

And in a further development...

Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery, have been ordered by an administrative judge to pay $135,000 in restitution for violating “the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations.”

This all stemmed from their declining to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding a few years ago, on account of their Christian beliefs.

As a result, a Go Fund Me page was quickly set up to assist with their unjust punishment, and it had reportedly raised over $100,000 for the Klein’s, with the first $20,000 pouring in within 4 hours!

But apparently the LGBT community swarmed Go Fund Me, and their fundraising page has since been removed.

Go Fund Me stated:

“The campaign entitled ‘Sweet Cakes by Melissa‘ involves formal charges. As such, our team has determined that it was in violation of GoFundMe’s Terms & Conditions.

The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal.”

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SilverSeminarian

It is clearly written in the bill of rights that there is freedom of religion. This is her business and she has the right to serve who she wants to and deny those she wants to. Would I be fined if I didn't serve a drunk? If I didn't serve a male that walked into a female bathroom? If I didn't serve someone with a gun? ETC.. It angers me that the govt. has done this. But on the other hand, we as Christians are called to serve and love others. This is quite the opposite. She can call her religion what she wants, but to call it Christian is wrong. 

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The way things are now either you will have to provide a service to everyone, or to no one.  Make wedding cakes for everyone, or dont make them at all.  Saying Im a Christian so i dont agree with what youre doing and cant make a cake for that well do they do that for heterosexual couples too?  Maybe that heterosexual couple youre making a cake for is getting married as the result of an adulterous relationship.  Maybe they are living together already as so many do.  Sodomy is a sin but so is fornication and so on.   Stick a sign out front saying that you only sell your stuff to people in a state of grace.

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Ash Wednesday

Even many of the staunch liberals I know over here in England side with Christian bakers and think this is overboard and ridiculous. 

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The way things are now either you will have to provide a service to everyone, or to no one.  Make wedding cakes for everyone, or dont make them at all.  Saying Im a Christian so i dont agree with what youre doing and cant make a cake for that well do they do that for heterosexual couples too?  Maybe that heterosexual couple youre making a cake for is getting married as the result of an adulterous relationship.  Maybe they are living together already as so many do.  Sodomy is a sin but so is fornication and so on.   Stick a sign out front saying that you only sell your stuff to people in a state of grace.

Hm, good point.

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dominicansoul

The way things are now either you will have to provide a service to everyone, or to no one.  Make wedding cakes for everyone, or dont make them at all.  Saying Im a Christian so i dont agree with what youre doing and cant make a cake for that well do they do that for heterosexual couples too?  Maybe that heterosexual couple youre making a cake for is getting married as the result of an adulterous relationship.  Maybe they are living together already as so many do.  Sodomy is a sin but so is fornication and so on.   Stick a sign out front saying that you only sell your stuff to people in a state of grace.

I've been confused about this as well.  If you provide a service to the public, is it a sin on your part to provide a service for something you don't believe in?  If I owned a hotel, would I be in sin for providing lodging to people who aren't married and living in sin?  If I were a baker, would I be in sin, for lets say, not only providing sweets and baked good for a gay wedding, but for a heterosexual couple who aren't getting married by the Church, but by the Justice of the Peace (which is not a sacramental marriage?)  If I owned a contracting business, do I not build homes for gay couples?  Do i not build places where people of all beliefs and cultures will use for their own celebrations even when I don't agree and believe in those?  (For me, I would definitely draw the line at planned parenthood "clinics" I would never provide services to those people.)   I wish the Pope would have come out with an encyclical on how to deal with these issues of the day rather than global warming... to me this is more important.  What part of this new law are we liable for?  In my humble opinion, if I did own a bakery, I'd probably bake the dang cake.  I don't have to agree with the celebration at hand, but I own a bakery so I have to bake cakes for whoever orders a cake...  I just wonder if that's a sin????

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Nihil Obstat

 

for a heterosexual couple who aren't getting married by the Church, but by the Justice of the Peace (which is not a sacramental marriage?)  

Not a sacramental marriage, but such people can contract an unquestionably valid natural marriage.

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Maybe they are living together already as so many do.  Sodomy is a sin but so is fornication and so on.   Stick a sign out front saying that you only sell your stuff to people in a state of grace.

Not a good point.

Homosexuals getting married will not stop the sodomy. Heterosexuals getting married will stop the fornication.

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dominicansoul

I just want to add, that I would use the situation to preach the Gospel.  I would let the persons know what I believe in and why I do not agree with them.  Then I would bake them their cake.  Gay cakes would be way more expensive in my shop and it would come with the Gospel.  Maybe they won't like that but as far as I know, Freedom of Speech is still allowed in this country. :P

Edited by dominicansoul
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I just want to add, that I would use the situation to preach the Gospel.  I would let the persons know what I believe in and why I do not agree with it.  Then I would bake them their cake.  Gay cakes would be way more expensive in my shop and it would come with the Gospel.  Maybe they won't like that but as far as I know, Freedom of Speech is still allowed in this country. :P

It would be illegal to charge more. Also, if you included the Gospel with gay cakes then you'd have to include the Gospel with all your cakes--which isn't a bad idea.

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I'm willing to bet that a baker who refuses to make a cake with the confederate flag on it wouldn't be forced to pay $135,000 in emotional damages.

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