US: Oregon bakery which refused cake for same-sex wedding closes down

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Sweet Cakes, an Oregon Bakery sued in August for refusing to provide a wedding cake to a same-sex couple, has closed its doors.

The bakery had previously cited religious reasons for refusing to make the cake, and last month, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said they would investigate whether the business indeed violated a 2007 state law protecting the rights of LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Last weekend, however, the owners announced on their Facebook page they would now be converting their business into an “in home bakery.”

KOIN reports that the closed bakery has a sign on its door which reads: “This fight is not over. We will continue to stand strong. Your Religious Freedom is becoming not Free anymore [sic].

“This is ridiculous that we can not practice our faith. The LORD is good and we will continue to serve Him with all our heart.”

Last month in Oregon, a bar owner was ordered to pay $400,000 (£250,000) in compensation to a group of trans women who he told to stop visiting because he didn’t want his business to be known as a “tranny bar.”

Similarly, in June a gay couple in the US state of Colorado filed a discrimination lawsuit against a bakery, saying it refused to provide a cake for their wedding, and alleging a history of discrimination against same-sex couples.

A similar situation arose in 2011, when a lesbian couple from Iowa said they were unsure whether or not to pursue a civil rights complaint over the refusal of a Christian baker to make their wedding cake.

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