Updated at 2:30 p.m. with lawyers' comments for both parties.



The lesbian couple turned away by a Gresham bakery that refused to make them a wedding cake for religious reasons should receive $135,000 in damages for their emotional suffering, a state hearings officer says.

Rachel Bowman-Cryer should collect $75,000 and her wife, Laurel Bowman-Cryer, $60,000 from the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said in a proposed order released Friday, April 24.

Bureau prosecutors sought $75,000 for each woman -- $150,000 total -- during a hearing on damages in March.

The amounts recommended by law judge Alan McCullough, coming after four days of testimony, are not final. State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian has the final authority to raise, lower or leave the proposed damages as is.

Friday's ruling comes as the newest development in a legal dispute over a Christian couple's insistence that their religious beliefs against same-sex marriage trump a state law requiring them to serve customers equally.

The case has gained extensive attention in the national conversation about religious freedom laws designed to exempt business owners from providing services for same-sex weddings. Oregon has no such law.

Sweet Cakes proposed order

Read the

by BOLI Administrative Law Judge Alan McCullough in the complaint filed against the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa.

The controversy began in January 2013 when Aaron Klein turned away Rachel Bowman-Cryer and her mother at a cake-tasting appointment they had set up with Melissa Klein. Melissa Klein was not at the shop that day.

In August 2013, the women complained to BOLI. The agency conducted an investigation and in January 2014 brought charges that the Kleins had unlawfully discriminated against the couple because of their sexual orientation.

In a statement Friday, BOLI said: "The facts of this case clearly demonstrate that the Kleins unlawfully discriminated against the Complainants. Under Oregon law, businesses cannot discriminate or refuse service based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot turn customers away because of race, sex, disability, age or religion. Our agency is committed to fair and thorough enforcement of Oregon civil rights laws, including the Equality Act of 2007."

The Bowman-Cryers both testified to the emotional stress they attributed to their experience with Sweet Cakes as well as the glare of media attention that soon followed.

Aaron Klein said his family, too, had suffered because of the case. Reporters came to his home and his shop, he testified during the March hearing.

The Sweet Cakes by Melissa car was vandalized and broken into twice. Photographers and florists severed ties with the company, eventually forcing Sweet Cakes to close the Gresham shop in September 2013. The business now operates out of the couple's home in Sandy.

***

Paul Thompson, a lawyer for the Bowman-Cryers, said his clients would have no comment on the proposed damages award.

"This is a proposed order and we view this matter as continuing to be active litigation," he said.

Anna Harmon, one of three attorneys representing the Kleins, said, "It's a shocking result and it shows the state's relentless campaign to punish Oregonians who live and work according to their faith."

"The important thing to realize is this," she added, "This is real money that Aaron and Melissa are going to have to pay that otherwise would be used to pay their mortgage and feed their kids."

Lars Larson, the Portland-based talk radio host who broke the story more than two years ago, tweeted about the case Friday. He said, "Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa need your help w/ a devastating fine from the state of Oregon," and linked to a fundraising site for the couple.

The Support Sweet Cakes by Melissa web page on GoFundMe.com is authorized by the Kleins, said Harmon. As of 2:30 p.m. Friday, about $9,000 had been raised toward a goal of $150,000.

Harmon said her clients have 10 days to file exceptions to McCullough's proposed order. They also have the right to appeal Avakian's final order to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

"The proposed order is 110 pages long," Harmon said. "We just got it this morning and haven't had a chance of analyzing it thoroughly," she said. "To the extent it calls for $135,000 in damages, you can be sure we'll object to that."

The LGBT advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon issued a statement praising BOLI's actions.

"This case struck a chord with many Oregonians because allowing businesses to deny goods and services to people because of who they are and whom they love is hurtful and wrong," said Jeana Frazzini, Basic Rights Oregon's co-director.



"The business owners in the case believed they had the right to deny services because of their religious beliefs," said Nancy Haque, also a co-director. "Religious freedom is a fundamental part of America, and is written into our state's constitution already. But those beliefs don't entitle any of us to discriminate against others. Religious liberty should not be used to discriminate against people."

Check back with OregonLive for updates on this story.

-- George Rede

grede@oregonian.com

503-294-4004

@georgerede