The once-proprietors of an Oregon bakery who made headlines two years ago when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple have finally coughed up the fine they were court-ordered to pay. The owners of Sweet Cakes By Melissa, Aaron and Melissa Klein, were ordered over the summer to pay $135,000 in damages to the couple whose cake the Kleins refused to bake. After six months of delay, Aaron Klein officially paid the fine, plus accrued interest, yesterday.
Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI) ruled that by refusing the couple service, Sweet Cakes By Melissa had unlawfully discriminated against them.
At the time of the state's decision, Melissa Klein doubled down, telling Fox News that she would not honor BOLI's ruling.
“We are so going to fight this, oh my gosh,” blabbered the baker. “It’s making us stronger and emboldening us to stand up to this. Aaron and I are fighting for every American out there for their freedom. We are not backing down at all.”
Of course, the fine didn't end up hurting the couple any, because shortly after they took their defiant stand on religious grounds, much like Kim Davis after them, they became symbols of religious conservative persecution, and a crowdfunding campaign launched to help pay their fine and legal expenses according to Politico, earning them over $350,000. On the site Continue to Give, they continue to rake in donations of unknown amounts, many in the last few hours spurred by this latest news. (Maybe people don't realize they've got the fine covered and then some?) Messages with the donations say things like "Keep the faith... your not alone [sic] ... we will retake our nation...you have waken [sic] many people up to the fact of the takeover... Now it is our turn to take what has been taken and more."
The Kleins explicitly stated their refusal was based on their religious beliefs, notes CBS 5, seemingly unaware that Oregon law doesn't allow private businesses to discriminate against customers for reasons of sexual orientation.
Sweet Cakes By Melissa has since closed, but they clearly have money to open a new shop somewhere else.
