Evil-doers on the assault against the saints…AGAIN

Here are two news articles about Aaron and Melissa Klein who are the Christian cake bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a couple of homosexuals. The homes sued them, destroyed the Klein’s business and got the State of Oregon to fine them $135,000. Now the State Bureau of Politically Correct Thought and Speech is forbidding them to even speak about their situation. This is pure evil — Satan unleashed upon Bible believers!

First, here is my response to the situation:

In a state where freedom of speech trumps almost everything and where riding naked on a  bicycle in downtown Portland is legal and considered freedom of speech, it’s unbelievable that a state official would deign to silence the freedom of speech of this Christian couple.

Who does Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian think he is? God? He’s an embarrassment to Oregon and should be voted out of office.

I’m calling out Commissioner Brad Avakian for who he really is. Brad, let’s be honest. You’re on a little power trip to make a name for yourself by attaching your political wagon to the cutting edge issue of “gay” rights in an effort to further your political career, and you don’t care who you destroy in the process! Your putting a gag order on the Klein’s to exercise their Constitutional right of free speech is an illegal act on your part and should be disobeyed. Your aggression against these people and what they stand for has blinded you from seeing the error of our ways. Shame on you! You may win the battle, but in the end, you will lose the war. Shame and disgrace are coming your way!

In reality, you hate Christians who believe in the Bible, the Word of Elohim. That is the real issue here. Search your heart and admit it. The idea of of Bible believers having free speech rights galls you to no end, and you’re doing your part as a petty bureaucratic functionary/public servant to quash their rights, while upholding the so-called rights of sexual perverts to steal, kill and destroy anyone or anything in their way. Let’s also not overlook the political expediency of your opportunistic support of the LGBT community. Your calculations will backfire on you! Make no mistake about it.

The bottom line is that you are doing the work of the devil, the chief opposer of the God of the Bible whose name is Yehovah Elohim. It is him that you’ll answer to whether you believe it or not. In the end, YHVH’s followers will win. In the mean time, your persecution of Christians will only make us stronger and more defiant to stand for righteousness and against the tyranny of petty Soviet-style dictators like you who think you can play god with people’s lives, and force those who disagree with the Party’s Policies to conform.

To those who serve, obey and worship YHVH Elohim, I leave you with several Bible verses for your encouragement:

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16)

 Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

What shall we then say to these things? If Elohim be for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31)

Submit yourselves therefore to Elohim. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (Jas 4:7)

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of YHVH and their righteousness is of me, saith YHVH. (Isa 54:17)

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:11–12)

Now onto the articles…

From the Daily Signal at http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/02/state-silences-bakers-who-refused-to-make-cake-for-lesbian-couple-fines-them-135k/.

State Silences Bakers Who Refused to Make Cake for Lesbian Couple, Fines Them $135K

Melissa Klein. (Photo: Patrick Frank)

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian finalized a preliminary ruling today ordering Aaron and Melissa Klein, the bakers who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to the couple they denied service.

“This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage,” Avakian wrote. “It is about a business’s refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is illegal.”

In the ruling, Avakian placed an effective gag order on the Kleins, ordering them to “cease and desist” from speaking publicly about not wanting to bake cakes for same-sex weddings based on their Christian beliefs.

“This effectively strips us of all our First Amendment rights,” the Kleins, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, which has since closed, wrote on their Facebook page. “According to the state of Oregon we neither have freedom of religion or freedom of speech.”

The cease and desist came about after Aaron and Melissa Klein participated in an interview with Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins. During the interview, Aaron said among other things, “This fight is not over. We will continue to stand strong.”

Lawyers for plaintiffs, Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, argued that in making this statement, the Kleins violated an Oregon law banning people from acting on behalf of a place of public accommodation (in this case, the place would be the Kleins’ former bakery) to communicate anything to the effect that the place of public accommodation would discriminate.

Administrative Law Judge Alan McCullough, who is employed by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and was appointed by Avakian, threw out the argument in the “proposed order” he issued back in April.

But today, Avakian, who was in charge of making the final ruling in the case—and is also an elected politician—reversed that decision.

“The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby orders [Aaron and Melissa Klein] to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published … any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations … will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination be made against, any person on account of their sexual orientation,” Avakian wrote.

The Kleins’ lawyer, Anna Harmon, was shocked by the provision.

“Brad Avakian has been outspoken throughout this case about his intent to ‘rehabilitate’ those whose beliefs do not conform to the state’s ideas,” she told The Daily Signal. “Now he has ruled that the Kleins’ simple statement of personal resolve to be true to their faith is unlawful. This is a brazen attack on every American’s right to freely speak and imposes government orthodoxy on those who do not agree with government sanctioned ideas.”

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, called the order “outrageous” and said citizens of Oregon should be “ashamed.”

“This order is an outrageous abuse of the rights of the Kleins to freely practice their religion under the First Amendment,” he said.

It is exactly this kind of oppressive persecution by government officials that led the pilgrims to America. And Commissioner Avakian’s order that the Kleins stop speaking about this case is even more outrageous—and also a fundamental violation of their right to free speech under the First Amendment.

Avakian would have fit right in as a bureaucrat in the Soviet Union or Red China. Oregon should be ashamed that such an unprincipled, scurrilous individual is a government official in the state.

The case began in February 2013 when Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer filed a complaint against the Kleins for refusing to bake them a wedding cake.

At the time of the refusal, same-sex marriage had not yet been legalized in Oregon.

The Bowman-Cryers’ complaint went to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, which is in charge of defending the law that prohibits businesses from refusing service to customers based on their sexual orientation, among other characteristics, called the Equality Act of 2007.

In January 2014, the agency found the Kleins unlawfully discriminated against the couple because of their sexual orientation. In April, McCullough recommended they pay $75,000 to Rachel and $60,000 to Laurel.

In order to reach the total amount, $135,000, Rachel and Laurel submitted a long list of alleged physical, emotional and mental damages they claim to have experienced as a result of the Kleins’ unlawful conduct.

Examples of symptoms included “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.”

In their Facebook post, the Kleins signaled their intention to appeal Avakian’s ruling, writing, “We will not give up this fight and we will not be silenced,” already perhaps putting themselves at risk of violating the cease and desist.

Here’s another story on the subject from the  Christian Post (http://www.christianpost.com/news/oregon-christian-bakers-ordered-to-pay-135k-after-refusing-to-work-gay-wedding-told-to-stop-speaking-about-obeying-god-not-man-141137/):

Oregon Christian Bakers Ordered to Pay $135K After Refusing to Work Gay Wedding; Told to Stop Speaking About ‘Obeying God, Not Man’

BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER

July 3, 2015|12:48 pm
Aaron and Melissa Klein

Aaron and Melissa Klein, former owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Oregon, speak at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. September 26, 2014.

The Oregon Christian bakery owners who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding on the grounds that it would violate their religious convictions have been ordered to pay $135,000 in emotional damages, and have also been prohibited from speaking about standing up for their Christian beliefs.

On Thursday, Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian issued his final order in the case against Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of the Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Gresham, who were found guilty of discrimination in January for declining to bake a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding in 2013. Avakian ordered the Kleins to pay complainant Rachel Bowman-Cryer $75,000 for damages and $60,000 to her partner Laurel Bowman-Cryer.

“Respondents’ claim they are not denying service because of complainants’ sexual orientation but rather because they do not wish to participate in their same-sex wedding ceremony. The forum has already found there to be no distinction between the two,” Avakian wrote in his order. “Further, to allow respondents, a for-profit business, to deny any services to people because of their protected class, would be tantamount to allowing legal separation of people based on their sexual orientation from at least some portion of the public marketplace.”

In defending the amount in which he ordered the Kleins to pay, Avakian, the head of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, claimed that the denial of service caused both women to go through emotional distress and added that Rachel Bowman-Cryer laid depressed in bed for days after she was told that Sweet Cakes does not service same-sex weddings.

“There is ample evidence in the record of specific, identifiable types of emotional suffering both complainants experienced because of this denial of service,” the commissioner wrote. “The proposal for LBC is less because she was not present at the denial and the ALJ found her testimony about the extent and severity of her emotional suffering to be exaggerated in some respects.”

The Kleins, who said last year that they were forced to close their shop in 2013 because harassment from LGBT advocates caused so much strain on their business, have also been told to “cease and desist” from speaking publicly about how they plan to continue to stand for their Christian faith and refuse to participate in same-sex weddings, as they now operate their business from their home.

“… Aaron has been charged with advertising. (Basically talking about not wanting to participate in a same-sex weddings). This effectively strips us of all our First Amendment rights,” the Kleins posted on the Sweet Cakes By Melissa Facebook page. “According to the state of Oregon we neither have freedom of religion or freedom of speech. We will NOT give up this fight, and we will NOT be silenced.

“We stand for God’s truth, God’s Word and freedom for ALL americans,” the post continued. “We are here to obey God, not man, and we will not conform to this world. If we were to lose everything it would be totally worth it for our Lord who gave his one and only son, Jesus, for us! God will win this fight!”

According to The Daily Signal, the “cease and desist” order is a result of an interview the Kleins did with the Family Research Council, in which Aaron Klein reportedly said “This fight is not over. We will continue to stand strong.”

The Bowman-Cryers’ lawyer argued that the Kleins violated a state law that bans people from speaking or acting on behalf of a place of public accommodation to promote discriminating against any of the state’s protected social classes.

Although the lawyer’s cease and desist argument was thrown out by administrative law Judge Alan McCullough in a proposed order in April, Avakian reversed McCullough’s decision.

Aaron Klein told Fox News that they plan to appeal the decision and that they will not comply.

“This man has no power over me. He seems to think he can tell me to be quiet. That doesn’t sit well with me and I refuse to comply,” Klein said. “When my constitutional freedoms have been violated by the state, I’m going to speak out. That’s the way it is.”

The Kleins’ lawyer, Anna Harmon, told The Daily Signal that Avakian’s cease and desist order is further proof that the state is trying to force businesses that they don’t politically agree with to conform.

“Brad Avakian has been outspoken throughout this case about his intent to ‘rehabilitate’ those whose beliefs do not conform to the state’s ideas,” Harmon said. “Now he has ruled that the Kleins’ simple statement of personal resolve to be true to their faith is unlawful. This is a brazen attack on every American’s right to freely speak and imposes government orthodoxy on those who do not agree with government sanctioned ideas.”

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said Avakian’s decision is a “fundamental violation” of freedom of speech and went as far as to label Avakian as no better than a bureaucrat in communist China.

“It is exactly this kind of oppressive persecution by government officials that led the pilgrims to America. And Commissioner Avakian’s order that the Kleins stop speaking about this case is even more outrageous — and also a fundamental violation of their right to free speech under the First Amendment,” Spakovsky said. “Avakian would have fit right in as a bureaucrat in the Soviet Union or Red China. Oregon should be ashamed that such an unprincipled, scurrilous individual is a government official in the state.”
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/oregon-christian-bakers-ordered-to-pay-135k-after-refusing-to-work-gay-wedding-told-to-stop-speaking-about-obeying-god-not-man-141137/#8Wm4ByMvkYRrJ3cJ.99

In defending the amount in which he ordered the Kleins to pay, Avakian, the head of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, claimed that the denial of service caused both women to go through emotional distress and added that Rachel Bowman-Cryer laid depressed in bed for days after she was told that Sweet Cakes does not service same-sex weddings.

“There is ample evidence in the record of specific, identifiable types of emotional suffering both complainants experienced because of this denial of service,” the commissioner wrote. “The proposal for LBC is less because she was not present at the denial and the ALJ found her testimony about the extent and severity of her emotional suffering to be exaggerated in some respects.”

The Kleins, who said last year that they were forced to close their shop in 2013 because harassment from LGBT advocates caused so much strain on their business, have also been told to “cease and desist” from speaking publicly about how they plan to continue to stand for their Christian faith and refuse to participate in same-sex weddings, as they now operate their business from their home.

“… Aaron has been charged with advertising. (Basically talking about not wanting to participate in a same-sex weddings). This effectively strips us of all our First Amendment rights,” the Kleins posted on the Sweet Cakes By Melissa Facebook page. “According to the state of Oregon we neither have freedom of religion or freedom of speech. We will NOT give up this fight, and we will NOT be silenced.

“We stand for God’s truth, God’s Word and freedom for ALL americans,” the post continued. “We are here to obey God, not man, and we will not conform to this world. If we were to lose everything it would be totally worth it for our Lord who gave his one and only son, Jesus, for us! God will win this fight!”

According to The Daily Signal, the “cease and desist” order is a result of an interview the Kleins did with the Family Research Council, in which Aaron Klein reportedly said “This fight is not over. We will continue to stand strong.”

The Bowman-Cryers’ lawyer argued that the Kleins violated a state law that bans people from speaking or acting on behalf of a place of public accommodation to promote discriminating against any of the state’s protected social classes.

Although the lawyer’s cease and desist argument was thrown out by administrative law Judge Alan McCullough in a proposed order in April, Avakian reversed McCullough’s decision.

Aaron Klein told Fox News that they plan to appeal the decision and that they will not comply.

“This man has no power over me. He seems to think he can tell me to be quiet. That doesn’t sit well with me and I refuse to comply,” Klein said. “When my constitutional freedoms have been violated by the state, I’m going to speak out. That’s the way it is.”

The Kleins’ lawyer, Anna Harmon, told The Daily Signal that Avakian’s cease and desist order is further proof that the state is trying to force businesses that they don’t politically agree with to conform.

“Brad Avakian has been outspoken throughout this case about his intent to ‘rehabilitate’ those whose beliefs do not conform to the state’s ideas,” Harmon said. “Now he has ruled that the Kleins’ simple statement of personal resolve to be true to their faith is unlawful. This is a brazen attack on every American’s right to freely speak and imposes government orthodoxy on those who do not agree with government sanctioned ideas.”

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said Avakian’s decision is a “fundamental violation” of freedom of speech and went as far as to label Avakian as no better than a bureaucrat in communist China.

“It is exactly this kind of oppressive persecution by government officials that led the pilgrims to America. And Commissioner Avakian’s order that the Kleins stop speaking about this case is even more outrageous — and also a fundamental violation of their right to free speech under the First Amendment,” Spakovsky said. “Avakian would have fit right in as a bureaucrat in the Soviet Union or Red China. Oregon should be ashamed that such an unprincipled, scurrilous individual is a government official in the state.”

 

 

1 thought on “Evil-doers on the assault against the saints…AGAIN

  1. HalleluYAH! Thank Yahweh for our Brother and Sister who stand for what is Right in His Eyes!!We would do the same if we were in that spot!
    Thank you for posting!!
    We know much more to come!

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