Bakers Refuse to Pay Damages to Lesbian Couple

The owners of a Portland-area bakery are refusing to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to a lesbian couple who they denied service.

Oregon labor commissioner Brad Avakian awarded the damages in July, saying that when owners Melissa and Aaron Klein refused to bake a wedding cake for the couple that they violated their civil rights by discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

The women originally sought just $400, the price of one of the Kleins' custom cakes.

The Kleins have appealed Avakian's ruling and are citing financial hardship. Since the ruling, they've had to close their business.

However, a Labor Bureau spokesman told The Oregonian that the Kleins have raised nearly half a million dollars in crowd-funding efforts and should be able to pay.

Avakian has also ordered the Kleins to "cease and desist" from openly professing that they won't serve gay weddings because of their Christian beliefs.

"You're looking at a government agency telling a private citizen what they can and cannot say," Aaron Klein told CBN News. "This should scare every American."

Oregon law prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations.

It also provides an exemption for religious organizations but the agency ruled that the exemption does not extend to private businesses.