GoFundMe accused of targeting Christians for pulling 'Sweet Cakes' page

[Warren Stupidity]

Rightwing world is in a huge upset.

On Saturday, the popular crowd-funding site GoFundMe came under fire on Facebook after closing down a fundraising page set up for and authorized by Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the Oregon-based "Sweet Cakes by Melissa." The business was closed in 2013 after Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman, two lesbians who asked the business to make a wedding cake, filed a civil rights complaint against them. At the time, we reported the bakery said it was targeted with threats and terrorism for refusing to make the cake.

On Friday, administrative judge Alan McCullough recommended the Kleins pay $135,000 to the lesbian couple for “emotional, mental, and physical suffering.” Among the 88 symptoms of emotional distress cited by the couple was the claim they felt "mentally raped." The final amount, MLive added Friday, has not yet been determined.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help the Kleins pay the exorbitant judgment. After raising thousands of dollars, however, GoFundMe yanked the page, but said the Kleins will still received the funds raised so far.

http://www.examiner.com/article/gofundme-accused-of-targeting-christians-for-pulling-sweet-cakes-page

It seems like anti religion zealots are working to dominate the conversation, and they are becoming very emboldened. Those poor beleaguered christians. They are becoming like a silent majority.

[LiberalAndProud]

1. “Persecuted Christians—USA” fund

[beam me up scottie]

2. Wow. Those anti-christian bigots are just like people who murder in the name of religion.

"The anti-Christian bigots at gofundme have brazenly discriminated against a Christian family," added another critic. "I will never help fund another item on your website due to your bigoted treatment of the Kleins. You claim their fund is 'illegal"' but you allow people to ask for money for abortions or to build a pool in their backyard because their dog is bored. Hypocrites. From now on I will recommend your competitors to anyone looking for crowd funding," added another Facebook critic.

In response, Samaritan's Purse, an international humanitarian aid group run by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, said those wishing to help the Kleins can contribute to its “Persecuted Christians—USA” fund. Graham said the Kleins "have taken a stand for the Word of God, and they should not have to stand alone." Graham, however, wasn't finished, calling for prayer and characterizing the judge's recommendation as anti-Christian persecution.

“I believe that Christians across our nation will rally around Aaron and Melissa and their five children," he said. “Please pray for Aaron and Melissa, and pray for our nation. When our judges are punishing Christians for practicing what they believe, that’s persecution, plain and simple.”

They are alienating liberal believes who are On Their Side.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. I am so glad the Authentic Religious are stepping up to embrace and defend these poor

persecuted people.

[beam me up scottie]

4. It's a shame those Gnu Atheist types can't stop persecuting them.

They'll move on to stoning them to death soon enough.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. Personally I' too busy defending my status as a high school girl to stop persecuting

anyone. It is a major effort to pull off "high school girl" when one is actually a 63 year man, and it involves a shit-tonne of persecution of christians.

Plus "everyone got to get stoned".

[beam me up scottie]

6. You sound like you could use some counseling and/or prayer.

Why are you so angry?

[christx30]

7. I'm fully supportive of gay marriage and gay rights,

but I can't support this at all. Not everyone is going to agree with two women getting married, and are going to feel completely conflicted about it. They see it as supporting sin, like someone hosting a party celebrating adultery.
From what I understand, they were willing to bake anything else these ladies wanted. "You want a cookie, I'll bake you a cookie. You want a birthday cake, I'll bake you one. You want a wedding cake, you'll need to go somewhere else."
So for refusing to provide that one service for those one couple, the sentence is total ruin? They lose their business, they lose their home. That sounds very heavy handed. I'm glad they at least got some help with their issue. Wish it could have been erased totally.

[okasha]

8. Businesses that provide a service to the public

don't get to discriminate against clients or potential clients on the basis of religion or perception of sin. If the Kleins had refused to sell a cake to a Mormon couple, or a Catholic or Jewish or Presbyterian couple on the grounds that they believe those other faiths are sinful, would you be okay with that? How about divorced people who remarry? Would it be fine to refuse to sell them a cake?

[christx30]

9. I'd like to think that people would have

the right to refuse to do work they don't want to do or makes them uncomfortable. If a guy came into my bakery and wanted a cake to celebrate them cheating on his wife, I'd kick the asshole out for being a pig.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. For example, refuse to serve african americans at their lunch counter.

Have you thought through your descent into rightwing world?

[christx30]

15. It's not right wing to say that

destroying someone's entire life because of their beliefs is wrong.
They were willing to sell them anything else in that shop that they wanted. They just weren't willing to sell the one thing that the customers wanted.
But at $135,000 fine is way beyond the pale. The punishment is a 20 MT nuke compared to the firecracker of their supposed crime. If a business doesn't want to do something for me, I'll take my business (and money) elsewhere. I don't try to destroy someone over it.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. next up: no jews.

The bakery refuses to make cakes for jews, "because god". No problem, right?

I do note you've stopped actually defending overt bigotry "because god" and are now off to complaining about the severity of the punishment.

[christx30]

17. First of all, I'm Atheist.

So I could give a rip what "God" wants.
But let's be clear: She's not saying that she won't serve gays. She's saying that she won't make a wedding cake for them. There's a big difference.
And $135,000 is way too much punishment for what she did, considering no one was actually harmed by her. Hell, a 4th offense DWI in texas is only $10,000, and people are more likely to be harmed by that.

[Warren Stupidity]

18. She's not saying she wont serve blacks, they just have to sit in the back.

Last edited Thu Apr 30, 2015, 06:24 PM - Edit history (1)

She makes wedding cakes for the public. She cannot do that and discriminate against her customers on the basis of race sex gender religion ethnicity etc. If she would like to operate a private baking club not open to the public she can be just as much of a bigot as she wishes to be.

[skepticscott]

11. But of course, the religious privilege celebrated

by you and many other here lets religious organizations do all of that. Your usual apologetics of "well, the law doesn't apply to those people, so there!" ignores the fact that simple human decency still should, but you're OK with them being allowed to discriminate anyway, because...FAITH!

[Gothmog]

12. I am glad that this go fund me page was pulled

[goldent]

13. Wondering if GoFundMe will be the next business in legal trouble

over who they refuse to do business with. This could go on forever - it will be like the song that doesn't end!

[okasha]

14. I wonder if they have a policy against funding

such things as court settlements, fines, bail--situations in which the fundee has broken the law.