Gay Terrorists Stop GoFundMe Fundraiser For Bakery That Refused To Bake a Gay "Wedding" Cake

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Saturday, April 25, 2015


A crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $109,000 for the Christian-owned bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon was removed Saturday after complaints from gay rights advocates.

The website GoFundMe said in a statement that the page was yanked because the campaign violated the policy against raising money “in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts.”

“The campaign entitled ‘Sweet Cakes by Melissa‘ involves formal charges. As such, our team has determined that it was in violation of GoFundMe’s Terms & Conditions,” GoFundMe said in an email statement.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries proposed a damages award Friday of $135,000 against Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the bakery, after they were found in violation of the state’s anti-discrimination law in February.

The family will receive the money that was raised before the site was yanked, according to GoFundMe. In addition, Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief group headed by the Rev. Franklin Graham, launched a fundraising drive Friday to help the Kleins pay the damages award.

“Please pray for Aaron and Melissa, and pray for our nation. When our judges are punishing Christians for practicing what they believe, that’s persecution, plain and simple,” Mr. Graham said in a statement on the website.

The Kleins declined to provide a wedding cake in 2013 for a same-sex marriage ceremony. The award, which is not final, would provide $60,000 in "damages" to Laurel Bowman-Cryer and $75,000 in "damages" to Rachel Bowman-Cryer for “emotional suffering stemming directly from unlawful "discrimination".”

The crowdfunding campaign launched shortly after the award was announced Friday afternoon by Mark Kost. The site collected more than $109,000 in less than eight hours.

But critics of the couple, led by Oregon baker Lisa Watson, said on Facebook that they urged GoFundMe to remove the crowdfunding page.

“Watson’s own post on Facebook stated, ‘this business has been found GUILTY OF DISCRIMINATION and is being allowed to fundraise to pay their penalty. The gofundme terms of service address hate speech, bigotry, criminal activity, and sexism among other things in their campaign. … The amount of money they have raised in a matter of a few hours by thousands of anonymous cowards is disgusting,’” the website GoLocalPDX reported in a Saturday post.

In a Saturday post on her Facebook page, Ms. Watson said, “I can’t believe we just did that,” while Brent J. Blackwell commented, “I complained three times and got my family in on it too.”  

The GoFundMe crowdfunding site was used earlier this month to raise more than $842,000 for Memories Pizza owners Crystal and Kevin O’Connor, who said they would not cater a hypothetical same-sex "wedding", but the money raised was to support their business and family, not to pay a court award.

“In the case of ‘Memories Pizza,’ no formal charges were involved, thus the campaign was not removed,” said the GoFundMe statement.

Sweet Cakes by Melissa has since closed its doors, although the Kleins are still providing baked goods from their home. The Kleins, who have five children, have said they are struggling to make ends meet.

“It’s very discouraging. This is not money coming from a business, this is not money coming from an insurance fund, this is money coming straight from our bank account,” Mr. Klein told the Family Research Council’s Craig James in a radio interview Friday.

The Daily Signal reported that the $135,000 damages awarded included payments for a host of physical, emotional and mental ailments listed by the lesbian couple, including “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.”  these clearly false ailments are proof these 2 lesbians are lying, these low lives are just terrorists and should be treated as such.  

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 The final decision about how much the Kleins have to pay will be made by Oregon State Commissioner Brad Avakian. He is expected to review the case later this year, and could raise the amount owed.

(CNN)

Gay Terrorists Sue Cake Store For Refusing To Do A Same Gender "Wedding"

A same-sex "couple" who requested a cake for their "wedding" in January but were refused service by a Gresham bakery have filed a complaint with the state, alleging Sweet Cakes by Melissa "discriminated" against them based on their sexual orientation.

Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries' civil rights division will investigate to determine if the business violated the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, which protects the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations.

It's the 10th complaint to the state in the last five years involving allegations of discrimination in a public place based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the bureau.
Rachel N. Cryer, 30, said she had gone to the Gresham bakery on Jan. 17 for a scheduled appointment to order a wedding cake. She met with the owner, Aaron Klein. Klein asked for the date of the wedding and names of the bride and groom, Cryer said.

"I told him, 'There are two "brides" and our names are Rachel and Laurel,' " according to her complaint.
Klein responded that his business does not provide its services for same-sex "weddings", she said.
"Respondent cited a religious belief for its refusal to make cakes for same-sex couples planning to marry," the complaint says.

Klein earlier this year told The Oregonian that he and his wife, Melissa, turn down requests to bake cakes for same-sex "marriages" because that goes against their Christian faith and cited their freedom of religious opinion. He has denied disparaging the "couple".

Melissa Klein said the complaint was delivered to the bakery Tuesday. She said she and her husband had expected it because the same-sex couple had initially made an inquiry to the state attorney general's office.

"It's definitely not discrimination at all. We don't have anything against lesbians or homosexuals," she said. "It has to do with our morals and beliefs. It's so frustrating because we went through all of this in January, when it all came out."

The complaint will be assigned to an investigator. If substantial evidence of discrimination is found, the inquiry could lead to a settlement or to prosecution before an administrative law judge. A proposed order would be made to the labor commissioner, who serves as the final arbiter and decides if violations are warranted.

"We are committed to a fair and thorough investigation to determine whether there's substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination," said Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. He advocated for the 2007 law when he was a state senator.

In the other nine discrimination complaints based on sexual orientation, four were unsubstantiated, three resulted in a negotiated settlement before a finding, one was privately settled and withdrawn, and one is pending -- a Portland case involving a bar called the P Club.

The law provides an exemption for religious organizations and parochial schools, but does not allow private business owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot legally deny service based on race, age, veteran status, disability or religion.

"Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs notice he doesn't say religious actions based on those held beliefs, but that doesn't mean that folks have the right to discriminate," Avakian said, speaking generally.

An administrative law judge could assess civil penalties.

"The goal is never to shut down a business. The goal is to rehabilitate," Avakian said. "For those who do violate the law, we want them to learn from that experience and have a good, successful business in Oregon."

The bureau's civil rights division conducts about 2,200 investigations a year on all types of discrimination, Avakian said.

This summer, the bureau expects a ruling on the P Club complaint: Transgender customers complained that the North Portland bar told them not to return. In that case, Avakian himself filed the complaint against the club, accusing it of refusing service to patrons based on their gender identity. A deputy commissioner will serve as arbiter in that case.

The labor bureau previously obtained negotiated settlements in the past on allegations by lesbian "partners" that they were denied a hotel room in Sutherlin, that a Eugene market and gas station subjected a gay man to homophobic jokes and that a Umatilla County event facility would not host a lesbian couple's "wedding".

The bureau provides training to businesses to help them avoid potential violations of the relatively new law.

 "I think you're going to see numbers (of complaints) increase with additional training and awareness," Avakian said.
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