American evangelist Franklin Graham is fuming over the unfair treatment that has been given to Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Christian bakery owners in Oregon who have been prosecuted by the state after they refused to serve a same-sex couple who wanted to buy a wedding cake.
"This is unbelievable! Friday, Brad Avakian, Oregon's Bureau of Labor & Industries Commissioner, upheld the ruling that the Kleins have to pay the lesbian couple $135,000 for a long list of alleged damages including: 'acute loss of confidence,' 'high blood pressure,' 'impaired digestion,' 'loss of appetite,' 'migraine headaches,' 'pale and sick at home after work,' 'resumption of smoking habit,' 'weight gain,' and 'worry,'" he wrote on his Facebook page.
Graham believes that the Kleins should not pay the lesbian couple a single cent. He said it is disgusting that the state of Oregon is attacking Christians and their freedom of speech.
"Give me a break. In my opinion, this couple should be the one to pay the Kleins $135,000 for all they've been through!" he further said. "Even more outrageous is that Brad Avakian (Oregon Labor Commissioner) has also now ordered the Kleins to 'cease and desist' from speaking publicly about not wanting to bake cakes for same-sex weddings based on their Christian beliefs. This is an outright attack on their freedom of speech."
According to Avakian, refusing to serve someone because of their sexual orientation is illegal in Oregon. He even issued a gag order on the Kleins, telling them not to say anything against same-sex marriage.
Anna Harmon, the Kleins' lawyer, 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."
