Saturday, July 4, 2015

That Whole Bakery Thing....

Recently, an Oregon couple running a bakery was ordered to pay $135,000 in damages to a homosexual couple they refused to bake a wedding cake for on the basis of their religious beliefs as Christians. The couple sites bible verses regarding participating in other people's sins and believe that homosexuality is a sin, therefor participating in a homosexual wedding by baking a cake is the same as being in a homosexual relationship and condoning all that goes with that.


Personal belief is all well and good, and in general I usually choose the path of putting my money where my mouth is, not giving commerce to people I feel treat me unfairly or make me uncomfortable. Maybe my stance as a liberal Texan has something to do with my lack of desire to legally challenge those who prefer not to serve me. But the laws in Texas are different from the laws in Oregon.


Oregon's non-discrimination law clarifies:

"Discrimination in Public Accommodation 
A place of public accommodation is defined in state law as any place that offers the public accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges, whether in the nature of goods, services, lodging, amusements or otherwise. It is illegal to discriminate in places of public accommodation on the basis of race, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, or age (18 years of age and older). "

From Oregon's government website, available here.
The full legal definition of "Accomodation" is also available here and states very clearly (7E) that bakeries count.


Once again, personal beliefs are great, but should probably be kept personal, not in business. Anyone operating a business in any state should recognize the laws of that state and know what they can be held liable for. This includes business taxes, discrimination laws, and any other law with which they may conceivably find themselves conflicted.


In the baker's position, were I uncomfortable with making a "gay cake" I would gladly have lied, explaining a difficulty in scheduling or a problem with wedding cake making. I would have lied my butt off, stayed in business, and done my best not to give someone fodder for a discrimination lawsuit. But I am not a proud Christian.

I am also not someone who believes in the notion of a Christian Nation. The very idea negates one of the most beautiful things about the country. When the founding fathers elected to abandon the monarchy, the did not do so to set up a new system of religious rule. For this reason at least, the separation of church and state is sacred and beautiful. We should all be fair under the eyes of the law, so long as our actions do not infringe upon the rights of others.


According to the laws of the state of Oregon, a baker declining to bake a cake based on the sexual preference of the recipients of the cake is discrimination. That's the law. It would be the same if an innkeeper turned them out on the street upon learning of the couple's status. Or a lecture hall turning away someone of a different race, creed, or sexual orientation purely for that reason. This is discrimination as it is laid out in Oregon's legal code.

The homosexual couple went on to sue for emotional damages, as is their right and the reason for the financial aspect of this case. I can tell you first hand that not landing the cake-bakery of your dreams for your wedding can be disheartening. Being told by the bakers that the reason for this is the fact of your sexual preference is beyond disheartening, and definitely rage inducing to say the least. For people in a small town, this is a serious emotional pummeling. Knowing that the same bakery you've been going to for years, the same one that you just knew would be perfect, is run by people who believe in their heart of hearts that helping you on your special day in any way is a ticket to eternal damnation...yeah, that would hurt, especially in a place where bakeries are not a dime a dozen.

The town where this happened is a lot smaller than my hometown, so just finding another bakery wasn't as easy as it had been for me, when I planned my wedding from Japan. After our first bakery option fell through completely, I had only six weeks to find a new bakery and get a cake settled. Given a limited budget and specific desires, I could only find two bakeries servicing the area the wedding would be in that would also communicate with me via email. One of these listened to my desires, negotiated on the price and tasting times, and wound up being everything you could want from a bakery. The other ran me around, quoting prices and ideas for two weeks that were later revealed to be completely bogus. The only thing in my price range was a pre-made plastic cake with a small cut-able cake on top, which was the last thing I wanted.
Even in the seventeenth largest city in the US, getting a bakery for your wedding can be extremely challenging.

Now imagine if I had been marrying my Japanese fiance in the fifties. I would likely have received similar treatment to the gay couple. And if my spouse had been female instead of male? Who knows?


The bakers should have conducted their business in a place like Texas, where it is well known (though not well documented) that most businesses in general may reserve the right to deny service to anyone, depending on the ordinances in their city. Non-discrimination policies don't even exist in many urban areas. In fact, should word get around of their position as a Proud Homophobic Christian Bakery, in many circles, they would attract far more customers.

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