In 2015, Gresham, Oregon, Christian business owners were forced to close their business due to a backlash over their refusal to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding. The court found them guilty of discrimination and has fined the couple up to $150,000 for standing on their faith based decision.
“The boycotting, the harassment. I mean, quite frankly, they didn’t just harass us they harassed the other wedding vendors that we did business with,” Aaron told the audience. “We’re facing in excess of $150,000 in damages for this, just for simply standing by my First Amendment rights. … My attorney likens this — he calls it economic terrorism.”
One harassing email the couple received in June 2014 reads: “You stupid Bible thumping, hypocritical [expletive]. I hope your kids get really, really, sick and you go out of business.”
“I can’t say it more forcefully,” Aaron continued, “what it came down to was that [my wife] has a God-given talent to create a work of art to celebrate a union between two people. And to use that in a manner that would be in the face of what the Bible says it should be, I just couldn’t in good conscience agree to do it.”
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