Oregon baker refuses to make cake for same sex wedding

A bakery in Oregon has refused to supply a cake for a wedding between two women, bringing the business afoul of the state's anti-discrimination laws. According to Salon, Pam Regentin of Fleur Cakes in Mt. Hood, Oregon has declared that her Christian faith prevents her from being able to fulfill an order for a wedding cake by Erin Hanson and Katie Pugh.

“I mentioned Erin in passing, and said a ‘she’ in passing too, in the email," Pugh told a reporter from KATU. Regentin called and asked if the cake was for a same sex wedding, which Pugh confirmed.

Not long after, Regentin told the couple that she would not make the cake because of her Christian beliefs.

"Just to be clear," Pugh told KATU she asked the baker, "are you not making a cake for us because we're a same sex couple?"

Regentin replied that yes, that was the case.

Oregon's consumer non-discrimination law directs businesses to provide "full and equal accommodations without any distinction on account of race, color, religion, sex, or sexual orientation" to any and all customers.

When KATU asked Regentin by phone whether she realized that she was breaking the law, the baker replied, "I believe I have the liberty to live by my principles."

In neighboring Washington state, florist Barronelle Stutzman is fighting a similar battle with the state government over her refusal to provide flowers to a same sex wedding.

In an interview with KEPR, Stutzman said she told customer Robert Ingersoll, "I am sorry. I can’t do your wedding because of my relationship with Jesus Christ."

“It’s a personal conviction,” she insisted in the interview. “It’s not a matter of being right or wrong. It’s my belief.”

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed an injunction earlier this year ordering Stutzman not only to fulfill Ingersoll's order for his wedding to partner Curt Freed, but also seeking a permanent injunction forcing her shop, Arlene's Flowers and Gifts, to provide services to customers without discrimination or face fines of $2,000 per violation.

Watch video about this story, embedded via KATU, below: