A Gresham bakery that refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple in January 2013 has been ordered to pay $135,000 in damages by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), according to a release issued Thursday. The decision follows the agency's conclusion in February that the bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, discriminated against the couple by refusing them service on the grounds of their sexual orientation.
"This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage. It is about a business’s refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is illegal," the agency said in their final order citing a 2007 Oregon law that prohibited private business owners form denying services or discriminating against potential customers.
"Within Oregon’s public accommodations law is the basic principle of human decency that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the freedom to fully participate in society. The ability to enter public places, to shop, to dine, to move about unfettered by bigotry."
The final order issued by the BOLI awards $75,000 in damages to Rachel Bowman-Cryer and $60,000 in damages to Laurel Bowman-Cryer for "emotional suffering stemming directly from unlawful discrimination."
The couple issued a statement following Thursday's ruling:
We were determined to ensure that this kind of blatant discrimination never happened to another couple, another family, another Oregonian. Everyone deserves to be treated as an equal member of society. As Commissioner Avakian wrote in his Final Order, the 'public accommodations law is the basic principle of human decency that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the freedom to fully participate in society.' The Kleins violated the law and we are relieved that BOLI stood up with us to hold them accountable and send a clear message to Oregon businesses that discrimination will not be tolerated.
The bakery turned down the couple's request for a wedding cake in 2013, citing personal religious beliefs.
Basic Rights Oregon Co-Director Jeana Frazzini applauded the BOLI's decision Thursday.
"This case struck a chord with many Oregonians because allowing businesses to deny goods and services to people because of who they are and whom they love is hurtful and wrong," Frazzini said.
Basic Rights Oregon, a civil rights organization, helped lead the charge to pass the 2007 law cited in Thursday's ruling.
"Religious freedom is a fundamental part of America, and is written into our state’s constitution already,” said Nancy Haque, Basic Rights Oregon’s co-director. "But those beliefs don’t entitle any of us to discriminate against others. Religious liberty should not be used to discriminate against people.”
The bakery owner's husband, Aaron Kleins, said that they plan to appeal the decision. Aaron Klein told OPB's Rob Manning Thursday that the BOLI's order violates free speech and religious rights.
"We are going to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court, if it needs to go that far," Aaron Kline said. "I would say that we have many grounds on which to fight this, and we have a situation that should frighten every American citizen."
The Kleins have 60 days to appeal the BOLI's decision.
Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting
