The state attorney general's office is investigating a complaint against a Gresham bakery after a Portland woman said the business refused to make a cake for her wedding to another woman.

Laurel Bowman said her fiancée and her fiancée's mother went to Sweet Cakes by Melissa, 44 N.E. Division St., for a cake testing on Jan. 17. When the owner discovered the cake was for a same-sex marriage, he called the couple "abominations unto the lord," according to the consumer complaint filed the next day.

“We were then informed that our money was not equal,” Bowman wrote. “My fiancée was reduced to tears.”

Bowman said the couple initially chose to have their cake made by Sweet Cakes because they bought a wedding cake for $250 years earlier without incident. But that was for the fiancée’s mom and her husband.

Aaron Klein, who has owned the Gresham bakery with his wife, Melissa, for about five years, said Friday the business sells pastries and cakes to customers of all sexual orientations. But same-sex marriage goes against their Christian faith, he said, and they’ve turned down requests in the past to bake cakes for those occasions.

“I believe marriage is a religious institution between a man and woman as stated in the Bible,” Klein said. “When someone tells me that their definition is something different, I strongly disagree. I don’t think I should be penalized for that.”

Klein denies calling the couple “abominations” or saying that their money wasn’t equal. He said he told them that his business doesn’t sell cakes for same-sex marriages and that he was sorry for wasting their time.

State law says it is a violation for a business to deny "full and equal accommodations" for customers based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and other factors.

Klein said he and his wife make no secret about their beliefs at the bakery, pointing to crosses on the walls of the store and its website that says they "strongly believe that when a man and woman come together to be joined as one, it is truly one of the most special days of their lives."

Bowman, her fiancée and their Portland attorney, Paul Thompson, all declined comment Friday.

The attorney general’s office is waiting for Sweet Cakes’ official account of the encounter before taking action. If the agency finds cause, it has the option of filing a discrimination complaint with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries.

--