Aaron and Melissa Klein were fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.
Bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, who were forced to close their "Sweet Cakes by Melissa" when the state of Oregon unleashed a barrage of state "hostility" at them over their Christian faith, are back at the state Supreme Court.
The state forced the closure of their bakery operations when they declined to create a custom cake for a same-sex duo, citing the fact that being forced to create a message that violates their faith would conflict with the First Amendment.
First Liberty said its petition to the Oregon Supreme Court is asking for a reversal of a lower court decision that forced the closure.
That happened when a state agency, the Bureau of Labor and Industries, fined the couple $135,000 for their alleged "discrimination."
The legal team is charging that the First Amendment protects the Kleins—and Americans of different perspectives and beliefs—from being forced to send a message with which they disagree. The brief to the court explains, "Custom wedding cakes are pure expression that is fully protected by the Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment and the Oregon Constitution. Forcing artists to design, create, and decorate custom products to celebrate marriage rituals abridges the freedom of speech protected by these provisions."
The Oregon Court of Appeals just weeks ago admitted that the BOLI "acted with hostility" against the Kleins because of their religious beliefs.
"But then the court tried to have its cake and it eat it too. Incredibly, it sent the case back to BOLI for a do-over. In other words, Melissa and Aaron are being told to seek justice from the same hostile agency that acted as prosecutor, judge and jury in their case the first time around," First Liberty explained.
The fight already has been to the U.S. Supreme Court which canceled the state court verdict and returned the case to the state with the message that the Kleins are "entitled to the neutral and respectful consideration" of their claims.
"What’s more, the nation’s highest court also said they deserve the same protection from religious discrimination afforded to cake artist Jack Phillips in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado (2018) case, an important victory for religious liberty."
In that case, the starkly hostile treatment by the state of Colorado of Phillips was presented in evidence to the court, because LGBT bakers were allowed to refuse to create a product because of a message with which they disagreed, but Phillips was specifically refused that same right, to refuse to create a project that violated his faith.
The U.S. Supreme Court has since taken up another case from Colorado with the stated intent of deciding whether a state, through its "non-discrimination" agenda, can violate the First Amendment's protections for Free Speech and Free Exercise.
WND reported when the Oregon court found its state agency had "acted non-neutrally against the bakers' religion."
"The appeals court said, "when viewed in the light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, BOLI's handling of the damages portion of the case does not reflect the neutrality toward religion required by the Free Exercise Clause."
The court said, "[T]he prosecutor's closing argument apparently equating the Kleins' religious beliefs with ‘prejudice,’ together with the agency's reasoning for imposing damages in connection with Aaron's quotation of Leviticus, reflect that the agency acted in a way that passed judgment on the Kleins' religious beliefs, something that is impermissible under Masterpiece Cakeshop."
WND reported earlier on the case, in which a demand from Laurel Bowman-Cryer and Rachel Bowman-Cryer for the bakery to promote their same-sex event, was declined.
One official with BOLI, Brad Avakian, publicly condemned the Kleins' actions as "hate-filled" even before the dispute came before him as commissioner of the state's Bureau of Labor and Industry.
He imposed a fine of $135,000 on the couple, forcing them out of business.
Court documents reveal, "Avakian's statements about the Kleins’ religious beliefs – which he uttered before BOLI had even completed" an investigation.
The Oregon case drew the ire of Samaritan's Purse CEO Franklin Graham.
"[Avakian] stated that the Kleins had 'disobey[ed]' Oregon law and needed to be 'rehabilitate[d],'" Graham said at the time.
On Facebook, Graham wrote: "This is unbelievable! ... Brad Avakian, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor & Industries Commissioner, upheld [the previous] ruling that the Kleins have to pay the lesbian couple $135,000 for a long list of alleged damages including: 'acute loss of confidence,' 'high blood pressure,' 'impaired digestion,' 'loss of appetite,' 'migraine headaches,' 'pale and sick at home after work,' 'resumption of smoking habit,' 'weight gain,' and 'worry.' Give me a break. In my opinion, this couple should pay the Kleins $135,000 for all they’ve been through!"
Graham said that even "more outrageous is that Avakian has also now ordered the Kleins 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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