Caller Threatens to Burn Down Christian Bakers' Home and 'Violate' Son for Refusing to Bake Gay Wedding Cake
The Christian owners of a Texas bakery who declined to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding earlier this year claim that an LGBT activist who was upset with their decision threatened to burn down their house and "violate" their son with a broken beer bottle.
Edie and David Delorme, the owners of Kern's Bake Shop in Longview, Texas, stood by their Christian convictions on Feb. 17 when they turned-down a wedding cake order for Ben Valencia and Luis Marmolejo.
Although Edie was upfront with the couple when they came into the bakery and inquired about their cakes and even provided them with a list of bakers who would make their desired wedding cake, Valencia contacted the Longview News-Journal to tell the media outlet that the Delmores rejection made him and Marmolejo feel "dehumanized."
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After news of the bakery's refusal to serve the same-sex wedding spread, the Delmores received a number of concerning threats against their business and family from LGBT activists.
Many of those opposed to the owners' view on gay marriage took to Yelp and other social media platforms to post defamatory comments and remarks about the bakery. But Edie told TheBlaze they have also received a number of nasty and shocking phone calls since the incident.
Delorme explained that so many nasty phone calls were being made to the bakery that she began having her 17-year-old son answer the phone so that she wouldn't be bothered by having to deal with angry callers.
Delmore added that one individual even called and threatened her son and also threatened to burn down the Delorme's private residence.
"Our son got a call … where they threatened to burn our house down and violate him with a broken beer bottle," Delmore said. "That was probably the worst."
Although the caller only directly threatened the Delorme's son over the phone, a threat to burn down the Delorme's home equates to a threat against the entire Delorme family, including their 8-year-old daughter.
As the Delormes continue to receive threatening phone calls, their daughter has been sent to stay with relatives for the time being for her own safety.
In a separate interview with TheBlaze, Delorme defended her and her husband's decision to obey their Christian convictions by declining to bake the cake for the same-sex ceremony.
"That cake is used to celebrate a union. We just don't feel like we're supposed to take part in the celebration of that union, because it's a violation of our faith," Delorme said. "We want to make that cake the most perfect for them, exactly what they wanted … we really pour ourselves into it, and we take delight in seeing their joy in what we were able to create for them."
The incident with the Delormes is not the first time that LGBT activists have threatened to burn down property belonging to Christian business owners who would rather stand by their religious convictions than service a same-sex wedding.
Last March, the Christian owners of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, created a media firestorm after they responded to a local reporter's question by saying they would not cater a gay wedding if they were asked to.
After the televised interview with the pizza shop's owners, Crystal and Kevin O'Connor, made waves in the local community and across the nation, a local high school golf coach named Jess Dooley took to Twitter to voice her outrage with the O'Connors.
"Who's going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza w me?" Dooley tweeted from a since-deleted Twitter account. "Agree with #FreedomofReligionBill? 'That's a lifestyle they CHOOSE' Ignorant."
Shortly after Dooley published the tweet, she was suspended indefinitely from her coaching position at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana, and also suspended from her teacher's aide role at Concord Intermediate School. Dooley was eventually dismissed from both positions weeks later.
