Once again, before I rant, let me preface this post by saying that I begrudge no one their religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs. I do, however, have a problem with those people who try to use their ‘faith’ as an excuse to deny me equality, to deny me my rights, and, well, to deny me cake.
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| Aaron Klein [top] Pam Regentin [bottom] |
We’ve all heard the story of the bakeries in Oregon that have refused to bake wedding cakes for same-sex nuptials. The first was Sweet Cakes by Melissa, which actually left a bad taste in my mouth last February when Aaron Klein, the owner, told a lesbian couple, “we don’t so same-sex marriages.”
My first thought was, ‘No one asked you to do a same-sex marriage, they asked you to do what you advertise and bake a cake.
Then we had Pam Regentin who owns Fleur Cakes who also told a lesbian couple that she doesn’t bake for The Gays because of her, um, ‘beliefs’.
Both Klein and Regentin cited their religious beliefs as the reason they don’t bake for The Gays and their weddings, and both Klein and Regentin called themselves Christians.
Don’t get me started on that part. I mean, I haven’t personally met Mr. Christ, but from what I understand he never uttered a word about The Gays and was really better known for saying things like “love your neighbor as yourself.”
But these so-called ‘Christians’ set that aside, and instead base their bigotry on Leviticus, which purportedly condemns homosexuality, while it also condemns tattoos—uh oh, for me—and eating rabbit, wearing clothes of mixed fabrics, or even cutting ones hair. But, Klein and Regentin probably don’t have a problem with those things, among other condemnations in Leviticus, they just single out the passages about The Gays.
In fact, Pam Regentin, when asked about her refusal to bake those cakes, said, “I believe I have the liberty to live by my principles.”
Live by your principles? Yes. Operate a business in the state of Oregon by your principles? Maybe not so much. Oregon statute makes it illegal for businesses to turn away customers based on race, religion or sexual orientation, i.e. being one of The Gays.
But this post isn’t about that topic, you know, turning away The Gays, it’s about other cakes that these Bigot Bakeries bake.
Recently, five reporters from Willamette Weekly [the source for this post, read it HERE] called both Sweet Cakes and Fleur Cakes to get prices for a variety of other special occasion cakes; occasions that many so-called ‘Christians’ also frown upon.
Not quite so surprisingly, both bakeries willingly agreed to bake cakes for a divorce celebration, for unmarried parents, for stem-cell research, and even pagan solstice parties. But not a cake that celebrates the marriage of same-sex couples.
After making these calls, and getting the pricing of these cakes, the Willamette Weekly then called both bakeries back to ask them why they’d celebrate a divorce, of unwed mothers, but not a same –sex wedding.
Fleur Cakes owner Pam Regentin refused to comment, though she did ask if the original call had been recorded; it had not.
Sweet Cakes owners Melissa and Aaron Klein were angry that the paper “would even try to entrap a business”.
Here are the transcripts of those phone calls:
Baby Out of Wedlock
WW Asks - I’m shopping around for a nice baby shower cake for my friend. It’s her second baby with her boyfriend so I’m not looking for anything too big or fancy—probably enough to serve 15 to 20 people.
Sweet Cake says - “We have a sheet cake that will feed 30, or a 10-inch cake that would feed 30 people. The 10-inch cake is $50 and the sheet cake is $52. Or we have an 8-inch cake that would feed 15 for $40.”
Fleur says - Prices vary based on decoration and frosting, but a basic cake is $3 per serving.
Divorce Party
WW Asks - My friend is getting divorced and we’d like to throw her a little party to mark the start of her new life. Do you ever write messages on those—we’d want it to say “congratulations!”—and how much would it be for a cake that could serve about eight people?
Sweet Cake says - “A 10-inch is $29.99. That should probably do it....We can definitely do something like that.”
Fleur says - “The price for a 10-inch cheesecake is $36 and up. So it’ll be between $36 and $45, but you’re going to have to call in advance because my schedule for June and July is very busy.”
Stem-Cell Success
WW Asks - I was wondering if you could do two little cakes. My friend is a researcher at OHSU and she just got a grant for cloning human stem cells, so I thought I’d get her two identical cakes—basically, two little clone cakes. How much would they cost?
Sweet Cake says - “Ha. All right. When are you looking to do it? It’ll be $25.99 each, so about $50 to start.”
Fleur says - Did not pick up phone or return messages. Acknowledged receiving requests by email but refused to comment.
Non-Kosher Barbecue
WW Asks - I’m looking to get a special cake for a barbecue we’re having next week. Our cow just died of old age and we’re planning to grill some steaks along with lobster and pulled-pork sandwiches—what size would we need for 10 people and how much would it be?
Sweet Cake says - “A 6-inch cake serves about eight to 10 people at $25.99. The apple goes really good with pork, and the caramel will complement the lobster. For a barbecue, it’s all really good.”
Fleur says - Did not pick up phone or return messages. Acknowledged receiving requests by email but refused to comment.
Pagan Solstice Party
WW Asks - I was calling to get a quote on a cake for a midsummer solstice party. My coven is celebrating on Friday, June 21. The decoration would be very simple: just a green pentagram. We’d like to pick it up sometime that afternoon, before the bonfire. It’ll be for about 30 people.
Sweet Cake says - “For 30 people we have a couple options... We have two kind of cakes you could have. About the diagram you want on the cake, I’m not sure how much extra that would be.”
Fleur says - Did not pick up phone or return messages. Acknowledged receiving requests by email but refused to comment.
So, while these two ‘Christian’ bakers found something repellent about making a cake to serve lesbians at a wedding, the idea of divorce, and stem cells, and unwed mothers and pagan rituals, didn’t seem to cause a blip on their Christian radar.
Makes one think that their refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding had less to do with religion and more to do with being homophobes. And, apparently, liars.
Now, again, I don’t begrudge them their faith; I begrudge them using their faith to mask their bigotry. And, all I ask is that, if you own and operate your own business and there is any segment of the population that you won’t service because of some belief system you have, please announce it in your ads, on your website, at your door.
No Jews.
No Blacks.
No Hispanics.
No Gays.
No fill in the blank
Then we’d all know.
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