Once more the good people of the United States have spoken:
If marching in DC by the thousands, campaigning and presenting cold hard facts will not get the message across, good ol? cash ? or lack thereof ? will.
We want Equality. We embrace change and We can use Capitalism to make it happen.
In the last six months, bakery owners around the country have been exercising their ?right? to deny service to couples they consider not to be living by their religious standards. Problem is: if you have a business outside your church, your religious standards do not matter,?because we don’t live in a Theocracy.
A number of businesses trying to impose their religious law onto civil matters have been sued and have lost ? but losing the lawsuit is nothing compared to losing most of their business.
In the beginning of February, the Oregon Labor Bureau ruled that Sweet Cakes By Melissa ?unlawfully discriminated against a same-sex couple? to which it denied selling a cake that would be part of their wedding celebration. The bakery closed its doors but kept accepting private orders from like-minded only customers, handpicked by Melissa herself, such as the Anti-Gay Ministry, and continues spreading hate via their Facebook page.
Here’s the twist: Melissa and Aaron Klein will also have to pay the couple a hefty $200,000 in damages ? which translates into funds coming from their exclusive customer base going straight to the gay couple they victimized.
Karma is very expensive indeed.
Now, another bakery is going under ? for a very similar reason.
Randy and Trish McGrath, owners of the 111 Cakery, from Indianapolis, made news in March of 2014, when they refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple saying that providing their cake to the celebration of their commitment would be in ?opposition of their Christian faith? and that,
?As artists, we have to find inspiration to create something special for our clients.?
The backlash was instantaneous and people from around the country took to the social media to express their outrage and by the end of 2014, Trish McGrath announced she would be ?taking a break from working? and has just announced the ?break? is permanent and they are going out of business.
Even though the couple refuses to admit the real reason why they are closing doors and denying there has been a decline in sales, the coincidence is a little too great to ignore.
Mrs. McGrath insists she just wants to spend more time with her grandchildren, but we are not buying it.
In an despicable attempt?to escalate the matter, Christian Activist Bill Jack, founder of the Christian group Worldview Academy tried to bait a bakery in Colorado which backfired in an spectacular fashion.
Mr. Jack walked in the Azucar Bakery on Colorado and requested a couple of cakes in the shape of an open bible and requested that she write ?God hates gays? below an image of two men holding hands with an ?X? on top.
Marjorie Silva, the bakery owner, refused to write the hateful messages but offered to accommodate his needs as much as she could, by baking the cakes and giving Mr. Jack all he needed to write whatever message he wanted himself.
But Bill Jack wanted none of it ? he wanted a lawsuit.
Christian outlets sided with the Baker, however, as well as a fantastic number of people who flooded the bakery with orders and support in such a manner, they posted on Facebook they couldn’t take orders for a few days while they filled the ones coming in.
The lawsuit has not been heard yet but after noticing the obvious recoil, Mr. Jack tried to deny ever asking Silva to write hateful words , just slightly repulsive ones instead.
I was one of the thankful citizens who ordered four dozen cookies from Marjorie ? I was happy to send her my money, along with a note of appreciation for her fortitude and character.
Their Alfajores are delicious and I highly recommend this sweet way of contributing to a more embracing and loving society.
There’s a sweet price to pay for Hate and Intolerance.
And we all need to make sure it remains that way.
