A group of protesters boycotting Sweet Cakes by Melissa of Gresham, Oregon has introduced a petition directly to the President of the United States. This petition was drawn up on Feb. 11, 2013 but is being circulated on social networks as this breaking report is being written. Will this White House petition garner the near 100,000 signatures needed before President Barack Obama addresses it?
In case you're not familiar with this case, the Oregon cake shop rocketed to media infamy after refusing to sell a cake to a same sex couple. In the state where this establishment operates, it is against the law to discriminate based on sexual preference in the same way that it is not lawful for businesses to operate "whites only" establishments or others of the sort. The owners of the shop, Aaron and Melissa Klein, claim that their religious freedom gives them the right to discriminate based on sexual identity regardless of the 2007 law.
Over the course of the past few weeks there have been numerous reports revealing the behaviors of both Aaron and his wife -- in particular a racist rant once posted on the business's Facebook page -- which has since been removed. Aaron Klein has also been screencapped on Facebook and other websites making homophobic comments as well as snide and disrespectful comments toward President Barack Obama and democrats (or liberals) in general -- referring to us as "homo loving socialists," essentially.
The petition created by the group who are protesting the cake shop needs nearly 100,000 signatures. Once then, President Barack Obama will likely address the petition -- which calls for him to "admonish the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa for acts of discrimination." If you want to have a look at the online petition click here.
Huffington Post reported on Feb. 11, 2013 that the business is experiencing a "business boom," but is there any proof of this? The report indicates that while there are protesters at Sweet Cakes by Melissa, there are also a lot of people purchasing desserts from the business in support of their stance. This is reminiscent of history's other civil rights movements in which some of the public were open with supporting the discrimination and alienation of other U.S. citizens. Aaron Klein says that he has "lots of support" and is standing by his decision to refuse service to same sex couples.
"I think the state labor commissioner is going to have to decide what's more important: The Oregon State Constitution, or the statute that was passed in 2007," said Aaron Klein.
But it's apparent that Klein is unfamiliar with the precedent even federally that constitutional rights do not apply to. In other words, you have your Constitutional rights, but those rights are not to be used to infringe upon the rights of others. And when you operate a business that provides services to your public then it is law to serve your public without discriminating against race, religion, gender, pregnancy or sexual preference. That is Oregon state law and it is, for the most part, federal law. So is it wise to purposely ruin one's own business like this?
Comments