Anti-Gay Bakery Breaks Crowdfunding Record Because Everything is Terrible
The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa made headlines after they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple and we're ordered to pay $135,000 for violating Oregon's anti-discrimination laws.
Melissa and Aaron Klein insisted they were only holding true to their deeply held religious beliefs, and said the fine forced them to close their brick-and-mortar bakery.
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Aaron and Melissa Klein (Photo: Sweet Cakes Web)[/caption]
Don't worry, guys! You've got a buttload of cash coming in, thanks to a record-breaking $352,500 (and counting) being raised on the crowdfunding site Continue to Give.
Jesse Wellhoefer, founder of the Kickstarter alternative, said that's the most anyone's ever garnered in the site three-year history.
Of course, it's garnered complaints, too, from critics who say donations shouldn't be used to reward hate.
"Lots of people have been asking us to take [the campaign] off," Wellhoefer told the Washington Times. "Our response has been, 'Thank you for your concern, have a great day and God bless you.'"
An earlier GoFundMe campaign raised $109,000 for the bakery, but was taken down by the site because the Kleins had been"found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts."
The Kleins got to keep the money, though. And they're still appealing the ruling.
So they could be looking at a windfall of nearly half-a-million dollars and no penalties, just for being hateful.
Well done.
h/t: Huffington Post
