Message #56029

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/02/27/anti-gay-marriage-bakery-gone/24133651/
2/27/15
Owners who refused cake for gay couple close shop

INDIANAPOLIS — A bakery that drew protests for refusing to prepare a cake for a gay couple has closed its doors.

The 111 Cakery was still profitable, said co-owner Randy McGath. But McGath's 45-year-old wife, Trish, did most of the baking and wanted more time to spend with the couple's four grandchildren.

The business "was wearing her out," her husband said. She has been taking a break from working since Dec. 31 when the bakery went out of business, he said.

In March the McGaths faced a firestorm of protest after declining a request to bake a cake for a commitment ceremony for two men. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Indiana since Oct. 7.

A TV station here broadcast the story of the rejection, and the next day Facebook and Twitter hummed with outrage. The flap led to a single picketer urging a bakery boycott, but many nearby residents were on his side.

The bakery was at the intersection of 16th and Talbott streets, a hub of gay culture for decades. At least three long-established gay bars are just blocks away.

However, others seemed to applaud the bakery's stand, traveling long distances for pastries.

"We had people from all over — from Brownsburg and Lafayette," 15 and 60 miles away, said Randy McGath, 48.

The ensuing sales spike lasted three or four months. But McGath insisted sales never dipped below their pre-flap levels.

McGath said he and his wife, who attend a Baptist church, were well aware of the neighborhood's gay culture when they opened their bakery there in 2012. They served the gay community gladly for several years but "just didn't want to be party to a commitment ceremony" because such an event reflected "a commitment to sin."

Despite McGath's views his discourse remained civil even in talks with his most virulent critic, the lone picketer Todd Fuqua, both he and Fuqua said.

"There was zero hate here," said McGath, who is now selling recreational vehicles. "We were just trying to be right with our God. I was able to speak to many homosexuals in the community and to speak our opinion and have a civil conversation. I'm still in touch with some."