Evangelical minister Franklin Graham is helping to raise money to help two Oregon bakers pay a $135,000 fine for refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple's marriage ceremony — slamming the steep penalty as "persecution, plain and simple."
"Sweet Cakes by Melissa" owners Melissa and Aaron Klein of Gresham were hit with the fine last Friday by a judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries who ruled in the 2013 case,
The Oregonian reports.
"They have taken a stand for the Word of God, and they should not have to stand alone," the son of famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham said in a statement,
The Christian Post reports.
"When our judges are punishing Christians for practicing what they believe, that's persecution, plain and simple."
The furor stems from a civil rights complaint filed against the bakers by Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman, who were turned away after they requested a cake for their same-sex wedding.
The Kleins argued they were within their legal rights to decline service, citing their religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
But the state's Bureau of Labor and Industries disagreed, slapping the fine on the bakers for the rejected customers' "emotional, mental and physical suffering," though the state labor commissioner, Brad Avakian, could change, lower or raise the penalty, The Oregonian reports.
According to the
New York Post, Aaron Klein spoke to Graham after the verdict and was assured "God is good."
"A while ago Franklin told me that if I needed anything to give him a call," Klein told the Post. "So I called him after the verdict. He said to not get discouraged — that God is good."
The lifeline from Graham, made through his charity, Samaritan's Purse, comes days after the
Kleins' online crowdfunding efforts on GoFundMe were shut down for violating the site's guidelines.
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