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Bakery risks large fine for anti-gay discrimination

Sara Roth
KGW-Portland, Ore.

The now-closed storefront of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Gresham, Ore.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story's headline misrepresented the timeframe for damages. The bakery has not yet be fined.

GRESHAM, Ore. – An Oregon bakery discriminated against a same-sex couple who wanted to purchase a wedding cake, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries announced Monday.

The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery will have to pay the couple up to $150,000, BOLI spokesman Charlie Burr said. The exact amount will be determined at a hearing on March 10.

In Jan. 2013, Laurel Bowman said Sweet Cakes refused to sell her and her fiancée a cake for their upcoming wedding. Bowman said Aaron Klein, the co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, said the couple's union was an "abomination unto the lord." Gresham, Ore. is a town east of Portland.

Bowman filed an anti-discrimination complaint with BOLI later that year, alleging that the bakery violated the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, which protects the rights of Oregonians who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

"Oregonians may not be denied service based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law provides an exemption for religious organizations and schools, but does not allow private businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation," Burr said.

Although the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa are religious, the bakery is not a religious institution under law.

The BOLI Interim Order announced Feb. 2 found sufficient evidence that the Kleins discriminated against the same-sex couple.

The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa will have to pay up to $75,000 per person who filed the complaint, which means the same-sex couple could be awarded up to $150,000, Burr said.

The Kleins will not be penalized for speaking about the issue on Christian television and radio programs.

Sweet Cakes closed its doors in Dec. 2013, in the midst of the public backlash from the investigation. The owner of the bakery said she would keep baking cakes at a home-based bakery.

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