Tearful baker who refused to make cake for lesbian couple tells how she has had to close her business in wake of lawsuit
- Melissa Klein and husband Aaron shut Sweet Cakes after ordeal last year
- They refused to bake wedding cake for Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman
- State said there is a strong case they broke the law by refusing service
- Mrs Klein cried as she hit out at the $150,000 law suit against them
- She told the Values Voter Summit it would violate her beliefs
The baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple broke down today as she told an audience she has been forced to close her business.
Melissa Klein and her husband Aaron were driven out of their small-scale bakery Sweet Cakes in Gresham, Oregon, after they said it would 'violate their religious beliefs' to do business with lesbian couple Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman.
The couple is now fighting a $150,000 law suit after the state found there to be strong evidence that they broke the law by refusing the serve the women.
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Hit back: Melissa Klein (pictured with her husband Aaron) tearfully hit out at the state and protesters as the couple faces a $150,000 law suit for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple last summer
Today, the disgraced cook told the Values Voter Summit she was left distraught by the ordeal and described her passion for the job she has been forced to quit, Talking Points Memo reported.
Klein is still taking small orders from home, but insists her career has been destroyed by the conflict.
She said: 'For me personally when I would sit down with them I just would want to know everything her wedding.
'I'd want to know about the flowers, her dress, the centerpieces, her colors, the way her hair is going to be. I would even want to talk about "where are you going on your honeymoon?"'
Tearing up, she added: 'I would just feel so honored to be part of such an amazing, special day.'
Closed: The couple was forced to shut down the store in Gresham, Oregon, after the ordeal escalated
Upset: Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman were turned away from the shop on the grounds of 'religious beliefs'
Her husband then took over: 'I mean quite frankly, they didn't just harass us, they harassed the other wedding vendors that we did business with. It cut off our referral system.
'We had to shut the shop down.'
Responding to the fact that the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said there is strong evidence that the couple broke the law, Mr Klein said: 'It's horrible to see your own government doing this to you.'
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