Bakery Denies Same-Sex Couple Wedding Cake
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Jeffrey Hamilton/Thinkstock(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Sweet Cakes, an Oregon-based bakery, says on its website they make “cakes for any occasion.”
But that isn’t the case, according to one customer, who says she was denied a cake for her same-sex wedding.
The bride-to-be filed a complaint on Jan. 28 with the Oregon Department of Justice, which is looking into the allegation.
Aaron Klein, who owns the bakery with his wife, Melissa, told ABC News affiliate KATU-TV, he was living in accordance with his religious beliefs when he declined to make the brides a wedding cake.
“I honestly did not mean to hurt anybody, didn’t mean to make anybody upset, [it’s] just something I believe in very strongly,” he said.
The Oregon Equality Act was enacted in 2007 and prohibits public accommodations, including businesses, from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Klein, however, said he believes his actions are protected by his Constitutional right to practice his religion as he sees fit.
According to KATU, there isn’t an exception under the anti-discrimination law for religious beliefs, so the case would be left for a judge to decide.
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