They’ve lost their business, been fined more than $135,000 and told they can’t share their faith–all for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
Here’s the thing: until now, Aaron and Rebecca Klein’s have never had an official day in court–until today.
Thursday, represented by First Liberty Institute, they appear before the Oregon Court of Appeals.
CBN will live stream the event on the CBN News Facebook page at 4:30pm EST.
“In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackelford said. “This is an egregious violation of the Kleins’ rights to due process. We hope the Oregon Court of Appeals will remedy this by reversing or dismissing the government’s case against the Klein’s.”
So, how is it that the Klein’s have lost so much, without ever appearing in court? The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, a state administrative agency, took administrative action to punish the Kleins.
According to First Liberty, before even hearing the Klein’s case, BOLI Commissioner Brad Avakian made multiple public comments on Facebook and in media interviews indicating that the Kleins “disobey(ed)” the law and needed “rehabilitation.”
“For us to lose the bakery was really crushing,” said Melissa Klein. “We worked so hard to build it up. We poured our heart into it. It was my passion. To have it taken away like that was really devastating.”
“This case centers on one vitally important question: can the government force citizens to violate their conscience or their faith? The Constitution is clear—the government cannot force people to violate their religious beliefs. The First Amendment was written to prevent exactly that,” said Shackelford.
CBN News has been covering this story from the beginning, see related content below for more on the cases history.
