Lesbian couple mulls action against Christian wedding cake baker
DES MOINES, Iowa, - An Iowa baker who politely declined to provide a wedding cake for two lesbians based on her Christian values may face legal action from the couple.
Same-sex “marriage” was legalized in Iowa in 2009 by the state Supreme Court, and a 2007 state civil rights act disallows discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in matters of employment, education, housing, and public accommodation.
Victoria Childress
On Tuesday KCCI 8 Des Moines interviewed Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers, who said they were “shocked” when a local wedding cake business owner declined to provide the confection for their ceremony.
“It was degrading, you know, it was like she chastised us for wanting to do business with her,” said Vodraska.
Victoria Childress, who runs the business from her home, said she told the couple that she was unable to give them a cake based on her Christian convictions. Both she and the couple say the conversation was cordial.
“I didn’t do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle. It is my right as a business owner. It is my right, and it’s not to discriminate against them,” said Childress.
“It’s not so much to do with them, as it’s to do with me, and my walk with God and what I will answer (to) him for,” she added.
“They thanked me for being honest with them. They were very pleasant. I did not belittle them, I did not speak rudely to them. There were no condescending remarks made, nothing.”
The news station reports that the couple is unsure whether to file a civil rights complaint with the state. However, the couple has since reportedly released a statement calling Childress a “bigot,” and the baker says she has been deluged with hate mail that she has stopped reading.
“It’s really hard to read things like that,” she told FOX News. “I’m a pretty quiet, soft-spoken person. But when I stand up for my convictions against things, I’m very strong when it comes to that.”
Christian businesses in America, including reception site owners and photographers declining to service homosexual couples, have routinely been targeted for lawsuits and harrassment in states that have legalized same-sex “marriage” or civil unions. Often the complaints spread through media, particularly gay blogs, where gay rights supporters are encouraged to keep up pressure on the offenders.
