Oregon bakers appeal to Supreme Court

Lawyers for Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of an Oregon bakery who were punished for declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case, according to First Liberty Institute, which represents the couple. The Kleins appealed to the high court Monday after the Oregon Supreme Court refused to hear their case this summer. Their attorneys have asked the Supreme Court to reverse the $135,000 “emotional damages” award ordered by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, which ultimately shuttered the Sweetcakes by Melissa bakery. The Kleins hope to find relief in the wake of June’s Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case, in which the high court ruled in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips’ right to stand by his religious convictions, which prevented him from creating a cake for a same-sex wedding.

“Freedom of speech has always included the freedom not to speak the government’s message,” President and CEO of First Liberty Kelly Shackelford said in a statement. “This case can clarify whether speech is truly free if it is government mandated.”