Klenk 1

Hannah Klenk

October 27, 2016

Dr. Cox

Let Them Eat Cake

Introduction:

Does the beliefs of one Christian business triumph the rights of Americans? A

business in Northwestern Oregon decided when they choose not to serve a LGBT

couple due to their beliefs. In 2013, the business, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, refused to

make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. This decision has sparked a three year

public court case. I strongly disagree with the position of the bakery, and the decision

that the state of Oregon decided. The article, Family bakery closes after left-wing bullies

finally get their pound of cake, is an article from the opposition side that I strongly

disagree with.

Opponents Position:

Todd Starnes, the writer of the opinion piece from fox.com, first starts off with

background knowledge of the case. In the year, 2013, a family bakery, Sweet Cakes by

Melissa, refused to make a cake for a lesbian wedding. The couple did not know at the

time that their decision to follow their religions teachings would lead to a legal battle

that would last many years. He goes on to state that they were punished by the state of

Oregon around $135,000 dollars for denying the couple service. It is stated that that this

a price that they paid for refusing to back down from their belief system. The owners

have chosen to close their bakery for good.

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Starnes writes that the members of the left-wing got their pound of cake when

the business ended up closing. A lawyer for the First Liberty Institute stated that the

couple closed their business months ago, but it was just updated on their Facebook

page to reflect it. The Kleins have decided according to the lawyer to appeal the

decision and get justice for them and people of faith who find themselves in a similar

situation. Starnes states that the Kleins did not go looking for a fight in the LGBT, it was

the other way around. In the article, it states that they have faced attacks from them in

the form of boycotting, being bullied, and receiving death threats. In the end of the

article, Starnes states his disbelief that this could happen in the land of the free and the

home of the brave. Where Americans now live in a nation where gay rights trump

everyone else.

My position:

I realize that Mister Starnes has a different opinion on this subject than I do.

When I first heard the case from the major media sources such as CNN and social

media sites i.e. Facebook, it was hard for me to believe that this had happened. What I

believe is that the Klein couple should not have refused to make the cake for the

Bowman-Cryers, the couple that made the complaint to the state of Oregon originally.

When Sweets by Melissa chose not to serve the LGBT couple, they were being

discriminatory to them based on their sexual orientation. Mr. Starnes, if you or the

Kleins did not know, Oregon passed a law that went into effect in 2008 called the

Oregon Equality Act. (Lambda pdf, 2007)This law protects the LGBT people in Oregon

from discrimination due to a persons gender or sexual orientation.

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This law covers discrimination in several areas such as for example, employment

and public accommodations. That means that places open to the public like businesses

that sell goods or services like Sweets by Melissa cannot refuse or discriminate

customers based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. The Oregon bureau of

Labor and Industries (BOLI) decided after the couple made an official complaint that the

Kleins were in the wrong. I know that you feel that Christians in your viewpoint are

being unlawfully discriminated against. This law that protected the couple from the

discrimination does also give exemptions to religious organizations and schools.

However this exemption does not apply to Sweets by Melissa. This is why the business

was fined the 135,000 Dollars.

It is however not a very responsible choice to call groups such as liberals and

left-wings as bullies and bigots in the article. Name calling only calls to flame the

problems that the original couple has been facing since 2013. In the article, Mr. Starnes,

you wrote that they, the Kleins, did not look to engage in a fight with the LGBT

community, that the fight came to them and to their business. However this is simply not

true. When the Bowmen-Cryers filed the complaint originally, it contained the couples

personal contact information. The Kleins posted the complaint along with the contact

information on their Facebook page.(Gettys, Oregon Bakers Forced to Pay $135,000

after Sharing Lesbian Couples Home Address.") The couple received threats that put

them and the two foster children at harm from the attention that the Kleins gave the

issue in the media. To quote the state commissioner when he made the ruling that I

think sums of the reason why the Kleins should not have denied the couple their

services.
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Within Oregons public accommodations law is the basic principle of

human decency that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation,

has the freedom to fully participate in society,

Common Ground

Mr. Starnes, we both have a common ground in the ability for everyone to be

treated equally. I know it is hard to have what you believe in questioned in your daily

life, but these challenges can make you grow as a better person. These challenges can

provide you a different perspective of life that you have not be able to see from your

perspective. Everyone has to deal with things or people that they simply do not get

along with, just like the Kleins have to.

Compromise Solution

What could have been done is that the Kleins should have seen it as a

customer-business owner relationship. And put their religion on the back burner instead.

However it is not an anti-Christian mob that drove them out of business, Mr. Starnes. In

the end, everyone should be able to live in this country and be able to be free without

having to be denied for whom they are. We however do not pledge to a rainbow flag as

you call it. We pledge to a flag that it supposed to represent everyone regardless of their

race, religion, and sexual orientation, Mr. Starnes.

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Works cited:

Anne, Libbey. "Sweet Cakes by Melissa Didnt Just Deny a Lesbian Couple ..."

Patheos. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

"Bitter Baker Battle." Snopes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Gettys, Travis. "Oregon Bakers Forced to Pay $135,000 after Sharing Lesbian

Couples Home Address." Raw Story. N.p., 10 July 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Starnes, Todd. "Family Bakery Closes After Left-Wing Bullies Finally Get ..."

Foxnews.com. Fox News, 30 Sept. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

"Sweet Cakes by Melissa Violated Same-sex Couple's Civil Rights When It

Refused to Make Wedding Cake, State Finds." Oregonlive.com. The Oregonian, 17 Jan.

2014. Web.

The Oregon Equality Act. Portland: Lambda Legal, 2007. PDF.