Standing up to their religious beliefs, a Christian family running a bakery in Texas declined to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple.
Edie and David Delorme, who own the Kern's Bake Shop in Longview City, which is famous for its custom-made pastries, declined a wedding cake request from gay couple Ben Valencia and Luis Marmolejo, earlier this month.
The Delormes, who are devout Christians and faithful members of a nearby Baptist church, said making a wedding cake for the gay couple will run counter to their religious beliefs.
In an interview with Fox News, Edie said she did not think twice about declining the homosexual couple's request.
"I was up front with them," Edie shared. "I said, 'I'm sorry but we don't provide wedding cakes for homosexual marriages.'"
She also maintained that accepting the gay couple's cake request would be like dishonouring God using their business.
"We don't do cakes that might conflict with our spiritual convictions," she said. "It was not something personal against the two young men. We just need to be able to run our business in a way that honours God."
Edie said that she offered to provide the couple a list of other bakeries that can help them with their cake, but the gay men just stormed out of the Christian family's bake shop.
"We feel like if we are going to be putting our name on something, we want it to encourage godly values," she maintained.
A few days after the incident, the Christian bakers received a phone call from a local newspaper, informing them that the homosexual couple has accused them of discrimination.
In a separate interview with The News Journal, Valencia said he felt "dehumanised" after the Christian bakers refused to bake their wedding cake.
"People shouldn't have to worry about going into a business, especially a public business that serves the public, and have to worry about being turned away for something, for who you are," Valencia said.
Marmolejo, for his part, questioned how the act of baking a cake will violate the Christian bakers' religious beliefs.
"I don't see how making a cake for somebody is going to compromise your beliefs," he said.
Following this incident, the Delormes reportedly started receiving anonymous threats to their family and their business in social media platforms, accusing them of homophobia.
