If you’re a business owner in America, you’re going to want to get a slice of this “sweet cake.”
We know…you’re probably thinking, “What’s cake got to do with my business?”
Well, in America today, cake is now an issue of Constitutional proportions, so much so that what started as a legal case about a cake could now turn out to be the deciding factor in what you can and cannot say in your own place of business.
Still confused? We’ll break it down for you.
Cake? Yes, it is your business.
What we’re referring to is the “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” case, in which the State of Oregon punished bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein because of their religious beliefs. The Kleins politely declined to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, and in turn, Oregon officials came down on them with a crippling $135,000 penalty that forced them to shut down their family bakery.
Now, that case is pending at the U.S. Supreme Court, after First Liberty filed a petition earlier this year on behalf of the Kleins.
But although many Americans see this as a case about a cake, the stakes and long-term implications in “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” go many layers deeper. In fact, the Supreme Court’s ruling on this case could very well determine if you’ll continue to have free speech rights in your own business.
Or to put it bluntly, your business – your livelihood, your passion, your job and the legacy of what you hope to leave your children and grand-children – is what’s at stake in this case.
Consider, for one, that what the State of Oregon did to the Kleins was to force them to choose between their faith and their livelihood – but no one in America should have to face that choice.
Put yourself in that scenario. Imagine if the government had the power to come into your business and tell you what messages you were and were not allowed to create. And if you failed or refused to convey a state-approved message, then you’d be shut down – forced to close your doors.
But it isn’t just a problem of not agreeing with the state or having an unpopular view that could leave you bankrupt – it’s the fact that Americans with religious views could be more prone to be targets.
People of faith – like you – who run your business consistent with your religious beliefs, should have some serious cause for concern. The State of Oregon’s penalty against the Kleins was polluted by anti-religious bias – and it’s not the first or only time we’ve seen a state agency overtly punish cake bakers (and other creative business professionals) precisely because of their religious views. Just go back and read what happened to Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop.
That’s why the Supreme Court’s decision on “Sweet Cakes” carries so much weight, because it could set a sweeping precedent that affects the constitutional rights of thousands, if not millions, of businesses like yours throughout America.
Go Ahead, Get Yourself a Slice (or Two)
Hopefully by now you’re convinced that you need to get yourself a piece of the “Sweet Cake” case. And if you’re thinking of joining First Liberty in the fight to vindicate Aaron and Melissa Kleins’ rights, then you’re going to be in good company.
A number of nationally recognized organizations and leaders have come alongside to support the Kleins and First Liberty by filing amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs. Those entities include the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the Cato Institute and the Institute for Faith and Family – as well as a group of Attorneys General from 11 states who’ve all expressed that their “states do not have a legitimate interest in compelling citizens to engage in state-favored expression.”
With “Sweet Cakes” the Supreme Court has a chance to answer a critical question, and one that it MUST answer NOW: Can the government force YOU and your business to speak or create a message that’s contrary to your religious beliefs?
As an American citizen, you already know the answer. No, free Americans should NOT be forced by the government to speak or create messages that violate their deepest convictions.
Today, we urge you to join us in the fight for free speech in America. And you can do that by supporting Aaron and Melissa Klein.
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