OREGON: Supreme Court Rejects Appeal By Anti-Gay Bakers, Lawyers Vow To Take Their Case To SCOTUS

On Top Magazine reports:

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday denied review in a case involving a bakery that refused to serve a lesbian couple. “The court has considered the petition for review and orders that it be denied,” Oregon’s highest court said in its order.

Late last year, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries that found Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, guilty of unlawfully discriminating against the couple when they refused to make a cake for the women’s commitment ceremony. The agency imposed a $135,000 fine on the Kleins.

Via press release from their lawyers:

Today, the Oregon Supreme Court denied review in the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa. The following statement in response to the court’s decision may be attributed to Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO for First Liberty Institute:

No one in America should be forced by the government to choose between their faith and their livelihood. But that’s exactly what happened to our clients, bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein. We look forward to making our case to the Supreme Court of the United States.

First Liberty Institute, a national religious freedom law firm, represents the Kleins in their appeal along with C. Boyden Gray who served as White House Counsel to President George H. W. Bush.

The Kleins paid the fine in late 2015 after raising over $500,000 via Christian crowdfunding campaigns. Their check was to be held until the appeals process was exhausted.