Citing religious beliefs, baker refuses to make wedding cake for gay couple

From KATU TV in Oregon: 

A Gresham baker is the subject of a state investigation after he refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Did Sweet Cakes owner Aaron Klein violate the law when he told the couple that he couldn’t sell them a cake because “they were abominations to the Lord?”

That’s what Oregon Attorney General’s civil enforcement officers are looking into after one of the brides-to-be filed a complaint on Jan. 28.

The woman who filed the complaint said she had previously bought a cake from Sweet Cakes for her mother’s wedding. It was fine. But when her partner went back for their wedding cake on Jan. 17, the owner refused.

Klein on Friday denied making the harsh statement, but admitted to a KATU reporter on camera that he did deny her service.

“I apologized for wasting their time and said we don’t do same-sex marriages,” he said. I “honestly did not mean to hurt anybody, didn’t mean to make anybody upset, (it’s) just something I believe in very strongly.”

But beliefs aren’t enough to cover him under state law. The Oregon Equality Act of 2007 prohibits discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The statute includes public accommodations, such as businesses.

Klein emphasized the importance of his religious beliefs, saying it outweighs his bottom line and the state law.

“If I have to be to, I guess, be penalized for my beliefs, then I guess, well, that’ll be what it is,” he said.

Read more and watch video at the link.