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Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Killing Sweet Cakes By Melissa

The Oregon bakery under fire for refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding has closed under pressure. Excerpt: The Kleins said they have been feeling the heat from those who have been protesting over this. They said not only has this affected their business, but it’s taken a sinister turn as well. “There’s […]

The Oregon bakery under fire for refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding has closed under pressure. Excerpt:

The Kleins said they have been feeling the heat from those who have been protesting over this. They said not only has this affected their business, but it’s taken a sinister turn as well.

“There’s a lot of close-minded people out there that would like to pretend to be very tolerant and just want equal rights,” Aaron said. “But on the other hand, they’ve been very, very mean-spirited. They’ve been militant. The best way I can describe it is they’ve used mafia tactics against the business. Basically, if you do business with Sweet Cakes, we will shut you down.”

The Kleins cited a break-in to their bakery truck as one example of what’s been happening to them. They said it was ransacked Sunday evening. We checked with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and learned there was a report filed, but no one has been apprehended.

They also said critics harassed their vendors to the point that vendors would no longer refer customers, which led to their income dropping off dramatically.

Still, despite everything, the Kleins remain optimistic and stand by their beliefs.

“It took a lot of years for me to build up what I built up,” Melissa said. It’s been hard, but I don’t know, I’ve kind of also been at peace with it because I am who I am and I want to live my life the way I want to live my life. I choose to serve God and I believe in the Bible. And I believe what it says and I want to live by that.”

I think that people who don’t want to do business with the Kleins because of their stance have a perfect right to withhold their trade. If it is the case, however, that they are also threatening to withhold their trade from anybody who does business with the Kleins, that really is mafia-like — and yes, I would say the same thing if a bunch of conservative Christians used the same tactics to shut down a pro-gay business. At some point, basic civility in a pluralistic society requires drawing these lines.

The Law Of Merited Impossibility has caught up with the Kleins, whose livelihood has been destroyed by the tolerance brigades. I encourage them to move to Texas, Louisiana, or some other state where they will be welcome, they will not be hated and abused for their religious witness in the public square, and their business will likely prosper.

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