Melissa and Aaron Klein, the bakers at the center of a years-long battle centered on their refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake, are fundraising to open a new shop where they hope to “show God’s goodness to everyone.”
What The Kleins Hope to Create
The Kleins, who shuttered their Oregon-based shop Sweet Cakes by Melissa amid outrage after declining in 2013 to make the cake for a lesbian couple, told CBN’s Faithwire about their aspirations.
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“I’m hoping to see, with my new bakery, it being a place where friends and family can come, sit, and have a coffee, enjoy breakfast or lunch, or just even a sweet treat,” Melissa Klein said. “I want it to be a place where everyone feels welcome and is greeted with a joyful smile.”
She added, “I want it to be a place that is used to show God’s goodness to everyone.”
The baker and her husband, Aaron, have made national and international headlines over the past nine years as they have refused to back down while navigating the ebbs and flows of their legal battle.
The Backstory
The Kleins have specifically challenged government mandates that initially landed them with a $135,000 fine from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries for their gay cake refusal.
Their problems began in 2013, when they declined to bake the cake for a lesbian couple, citing the bakers’ Christian stance on same-sex nuptials.
After a complaint was waged by the same-sex couple, the state stepped in and awarded the massive sum of money, claiming the Kleins were guilty of discrimination. But Klein has explained over the years she had no problem serving the couple; she simply did not want to participate in the wedding.
“When we opened our bakery, we loved serving all customers who came into the shop, regardless of their identity or beliefs. My cakes were my canvas,” she said a few years ago during a press conference. “My bakery wasn’t just called ‘Sweet Cakes Bakery,’ it was ‘Sweet Cakes by Melissa,’ because I pour my passion and heart into each cake I make. My faith is a part of that.”
Klein said she simply did not want to be compelled to participate in their wedding, which she said “goes against” her beliefs.
Attorneys with First Liberty have argued that the “First Amendment protects the Kleins — and Americans of different perspectives and beliefs — from being forced to send a message with which they disagree,” according to a statement from the law firm on the matter.
Losing Her Bakery
The chaos surrounding the Kleins’ cake refusal, which quickly metastasized from a local news story to the epicenter of the national dispute over the balance between the First and Fourteenth Amendments, ended up forcing the bakery’s closure — something that deeply impacted Klein.
“All I can remember with the feelings of losing my bakery was the feeling of just devastation,” she told CBN’s Faithwire. “I started my business out of my home and worked my way up to renting a shop and having a place of my own.”
Klein continued, “Getting to know the frequent customers was so awesome. They became my friends, and I loved them all. My heart literally felt ripped in two when I closed my doors for the last time.”
But now the Kleins, who have moved to Montana since their case began nearly a decade ago, are hoping for a new beginning — and for new memories to be made.
Hopes and Prayers for a New Bakery
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN
