Trial Begins on Bakery's Refusal to Bake Wedding Cake for Lesbian Couple
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Thursday heard arguments over the Gresham bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for two women. The case pertains to the refusal of Sweet Cakes owners Aaron and Melissa Klein to sell a cake to lesbian couple Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ordered the bakery to pay $135,000 in damages which the Kleins are appealing to the court. Defense lawyers told the three-judge panel that the penalty is unfair as their clients were only exercising their freedom of expression, OPB reported.
Department of Justice Atty. Carson Whitehead, arguing on behalf of the Bureau of Labor and Industries, said what the Kleins did was discriminatory and was in violation of the Oregon Equality Act of 2007. This states that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the freedom to fully participate in society.
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At one point during the hearing, the argument centered on whether or not a product of a food establishment is considered art. Adam Gustafon, counsel of the Kleins, compared his clients' cakes to works of art, adding that courts have traditionally given artists leeway when it comes to freedom of expression.
This prompted Judge Rebecca Duncan to ask if people consider art the sandwich they prepare in cafeterias. Gustafon responded: "I'm not aware of any real-life sandwich shop like that. But if a sandwich shop put into constructing a hoagie the same effort that Melissa Klein put into designing and executing one of these wedding cakes, that would be art."
The Kleins talked to reporters after the hearing. "We just want to be able to live in a place where the government tolerates and accepts differences," Melissa said. "We hope even if people have different beliefs from us, that they will show each other tolerance and that we can peacefully live together and still follow our faith. That's all we want," she added.
