Tuesday, February 03, 2015

$150,000 Fine for Not Baking Wedding Cake for Gay Couple

I think this one needs to go to the Supreme Court to clarify.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ruled that Aaron and Melissa Klein, who own Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, will have to pay the lesbian couple up to $150,000, USA Today is reporting. The final amount is set to be determined at a March 10 hearing, according to the report.
Bureau spokesman Charlie Burr said in a statement cited by Reuters that although Oregon law provides an exemption for religious institutions, it "does not allow private businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot legally deny service based on race, sex, age, disability or religion."
I think a new cottage industry could spring up from people scoring fines from various religious businesses. So a Kosher Deli could be sued by someone bringing in a pig for them to slaughter. If they refuse to dress the pig you can conceivably sue them for discrimination. You could do the same thing at a Halal butcher or other sort of business that has a religious background.

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