Last September I reported about a Gresham bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex homosexual couple and became the subject of a state investigation has closed. The owners said, “This will be our last weekend at the shop we are moving our business to an in home bakery.”
Well now the State determined that they were discriminatory in their actions.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said Friday that the Gresham bakery, Sweet Cakes, violated the civil rights of a same-sex homosexual couple when it denied service to them.
The state labor department said it found “substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination” when the bakery refused to bake a wedding cake for the couple.
The department said private businesses are not allowed to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.
While there are exemptions for religious organizations and schools, the labor department determined that Sweet Cakes is not a religious organization.
The department said it may bring formal charges against Sweet Cakes if the parties can’t come to a settlement.
Sweet Cakes owners Melissa Klein and her husband, Aaron, refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple last year because they said it went against their religious beliefs. The lesbian couple filed a complained with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
I will update if any formal charges are filed.
DCG