GAY TRUTH

A U.S. court of appeal dealt religious freedom another legal blow last week as it  upheld a penalty  against Christian bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein for declining to create a "wedding" cake for two lesbians almost five years ago. Lawyers for the Kleins said state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian and the state Bureau of Labor and Industries violated the Kleins’ rights as artists to free speech, their rights to religious freedom and their rights as defendants to a due process. Avakian had ordered the owners of now-closed Sweet Cakes by Melissa to  pay emotional-distress damages of $135,000 to the lesbians . Melissa and Aaron Klein . The Oregon Court of Appeals sided with the state last week, the Washington Post   reports , saying the Kleins failed to show the state targeted them for their religious beliefs.  The court said the Kleins’ argument that their cakes are an artistic expression is “entitled to be taken seriously,” but it’s not enough ...

Defeated but undeterred, Belfast baker Daniel McArthur stood in front of  the British Court of Appeal building and asserted that the Equality Law under which he had been convicted of discrimination against homosexuals “has to be changed.” Then the evangelical Christian made an unusually fervent declaration of faith as he stood with wife Amy and parents Karen and Colin McArthur, the owners of the small chain of seven bakeries he manages. “We are thankful to God who has been faithful to us through everything. He is still on the throne of Heaven and of Earth. He is our God and we worship and honor him.” In 2015, the McArthurs were convicted in a Belfast court of discrimination for refusing to bake a cake ordered by homosexual activist Gareth Lee showing two Sesame Street characters and the message: “Support Gay Marriage.” As McArthur explained Monday morning, “The judges accepted that we did know Mr. Lee was gay and he was not the reason we declined the order. It was ne...

The owner of an Ohio bakery reportedly canceled a woman’s birthday cake order after she discovered that the customer was in a same-sex marriage. Candice Lowe tells ABC 13 that she was on her honeymoon in Florida when she says she received a text message from LeGresha Fizer-Brown, who owns Toledo’s Take the Cake Bakery, nixing her order for her wife Amanda’s birthday cake. In the July 4 message, Fizer-Brown allegedly told Lowe that her business does “not do cakes for same-sex weddings or parties.” “Candice, I’m sorry…I just realized your [sic] in a same sex relationship,” Fizer-Brown reportedly wrote in the text message . “I wasn’t aware of this exactly until I saw your page.” The Lowes, who were married just two weeks ago, said they “just wanted to cry” when they received the text. Candice Lowe later posted the alleged message to her Facebook page, and a screenshot appears on the progressive news site, Peacock Panache . Bakeries and other wedding-related venues have become an ...