Following Masterpiece Decision, Oregon Bakers to Bring Case Before SCOTUS
"We look forward to making our case to the Supreme Court of the United States."
This month Colorado baker Jack Phillips won his Supreme Court case. Now, another pair of Christian bakers plan to bring their case before SCOTUS.
Aaron and Melissa Klein own Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon. The couple’s law firm announced Thursday that the Oregon Supreme Court denied review of their case. So they’re aiming for Washington, D.C.
“We look forward to making our case to the Supreme Court of the United States,” said Kelly Shackelford. He is president of First Liberty Institute, the nonprofit firm representing the Kleins. “No one in America should be forced by the government to choose between their faith and their livelihood.”
Like Phillips, the Kleins declined to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. Melissa noted that they’d happily served the customer who requested the cake in the past. But as Christians, they felt uncomfortable endorsing a same-sex union by making a custom cake.
The decision cost them. The customer and her partner went to the government, citing “emotional damages” as a result of their request being denied. The Oregon Bureau of Labor (BOLI) and Industries then ordered the Kleins to pay a $135,000 penalty.
And that wasn’t the end of it. “Our business was shut down, our vehicles were vandalized, our home was broken into, and we have received more death threats than we care to count,” the Kleins wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Signal Tuesday.
More Hostility to Religion
In the Masterpiece opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy condemned hostility toward religion. He noted the “State’s duty under the First Amendment not to base laws or regulations on hostility to a religion or religious viewpoint.”
That’s why the Supreme Court sided with Phillips. As Kennedy wrote, “The Commission’s treatment of Phillips’ case … showed elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs motivating his objection.”
In The Daily Signal, Aaron and Melissa claim the BOLI commissioner was hostile toward their beliefs. They describe how he publicly condemned them before hearing their case. First Liberty argues that he violated the Kleins’ right to due process.
The Kleins hope that “one day a court will correct the religious hostility we suffered.” Should the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear their case, that day could be coming.
