http://gma.yahoo.com/florist-refused-flowers-gay-wedding-sued-154420094--abc-news-topstories.html4/10/13
A lesbian couple went to Sweet Cakes, a Gresham, Ore., bakery Jan. 17 to order their wedding cake, but said they were told the bakery didn't serve same-sex marriages.
Aaron Klein, who owns Sweet Cakes with his wife, Melissa, told ABC News affiliate KATU-TV he was living in accordance with his religious beliefs when he refused to make the couple a wedding cake.
"I honestly did not mean to hurt anybody, didn't mean to make anybody upset, [it's] just something I believe in very strongly," he said.
A complaint was filed with the Oregon Department of Justice; however a spokesman told ABCNews.com the couple said last month they planned to move the complaint to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
"Ace of Cakes" star Duff Goldman heard about the plight of the brides-to-be and said he would bake them a wedding cake free of charge.
"I want to give them a big hug and say congratulations," he told ABCNews.com in February. "It involves cake, it involves love, marriage, all things I'm a big fan of."
Gresham bakery that denied same-sex wedding cake closes A Gresham bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, prompting a state investigation, shut its doors.
On Sunday, KGW stopped by Sweet Cakes by Melissa and found the bakery completely empty. All counter tops, display cases and decorations were gone.
Hanging in the window was a sign from the Oregon Family Council that read "Religious freedom is under attack in Gresham."
As first reported in Willamette Week, Sweet Cakes by Melissa posted on its Facebook page, “This will be our last weekend at the shop we are moving our business to an in home bakery. I will post our new number soon.”
In January, Laurel Bowman said Sweet Cakes by Melissa refused to sell her a cake after learning it would be for a same-sex wedding.
In August, the Bureau of Labor and Industries said it was conducting an investigation to determine if the bakery violated the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, which protects the rights of LGBT Oregonians.
Aaron Klein, one of the owners of the "Sweet Cakes by Melissa,” refused to sell the cake to one of the brides-to-be because he said marriage should be only between a man and a woman.
Bowman later filed a complaint with the justice department, which Klein’s attorney Herbert Grey responded to. In his letter, Grey says the couple "elected not to participate in an event that is not even officially recognized under Oregon law when doing so would violate their constitutionally-protected conscience and religious beliefs."
All of the comments on the bakery's Facebook page are largely supportive of the business.
“I'm sorry to hear this. Its very frustrating to have people do all they can to cause others strife just because they don't agree with a lifestyle. I will keep you all in my prayers. Don't let them get you down. You will survive this and all other tests through your faith. God bless Melissa,” one woman writes.
Willamette Week, however, noted several negative comments on Sweet Cakes’ Facebook page have been taken down.
http://www.kgw.com/news/Gresham-bakery-that-denied-same-sex-wedding-cake-closes--222004711.html
