SUPREME COURT REVERSAL UPHOLDS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
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SUPREME COURT REVERSAL UPHOLDS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it reversed a decision by the state of Oregon that forced bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein out of business by penalizing them $135,000 for refusing to create a government-approved message. The case was sent back to the Oregon courts for further review in light of its Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The Kleins are represented by First Liberty Institute and Boyden Gray & Associates.
“This is a victory for Aaron and Melissa Klein and for religious liberty for all Americans,” said Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel to First Liberty. “The Constitution protects speech, popular or not, from condemnation by the government. The message from the Court is clear, government hostility toward religious Americans will not be tolerated.”
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Former Ambassador to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray and Adam Gustafson, of Boyden Gray & Associates, First Liberty network attorneys, are the lead appellate counsel for the case.
In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Justices reminded government officials that they cannot be hostile to the free exercise of the religious beliefs of its citizens.
The State of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) found that the Kleins had had violated Oregon’s public accommodations statute after Aaron and Melissa declined to design and create wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. In addition to the $135,000 penalty for “emotional damages,” BOLI issued a gag order, preventing them from even talking about their actual beliefs. As a result, the Kleins were forced to shut down their bakery. Aaron and Melissa appealed the BOLI ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals in April 2016. The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the gag order but otherwise upheld the decision of BOLI in December 2017.
(Read press release at First Liberty)
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Praise our merciful and mighty God for His hand moving on behalf of this faithful couple. May God restore all the finances spent on defense of their religious freedoms. May the Holy Spirit of God move all over the country to set right the laws of the land and abolish bad laws of every state in America. Let God’s people pray with declaration of His power and might to keep us. May any law resembling the misleading name of “Equality Act” be rejected by our lawmakers, judges, and every senator and representative. Open their eyes to the harm it would inflict on the nation’s freedom of religion.
Thank you Lord for pushing back against the assault on religious liberty. Thank you for giving us time
and a chance for revival. May we spend that alloted time in prayer, repentance and witnessing.
Father,
Thank you for this couple and their willingness to stand for truth in an age of confusion. Thank you for helping them to be willing to take a stand even though it initially cost them their business. Please strengthen them moving forward and help them to have your love and grace in all of their interactions. Thank you for the judges who are actually upholding the constitution and for lawyers to defend. Please provide for them as well.
Thank you Lord, for your mercy and justice and reverse recompense to the bakers for their stand against evil. Bless them many times over and assist them to rebuild and shine in this dark world. God loves the sinner, but not there sin of homosexuality. Forgive the same sex couple, who created this issue in the first place. Hopefully, it’s not too late for them. In Jesus name Amen!
Thank God they were persistent in moving through the courts in a lawful manner. They own their own business and should be able to run it within the laws of their religious convictions as long as those do not do harm to others. There are other places to order a cake. Thank God for our constitution and President Trump.