Gay couple denied wedding cake, to get $135,000

The former owners of a bakery in the US state of Oregon have been ordered to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple who were refused a wedding cake in 2013.

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein, who owned the Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Gresham, Oregon, to compensate the couple for emotional and mental suffering that resulted from the denial of service, The Los Angles Times reported.

The Kleins had cited their Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage in refusing to make the wedding cake for Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer.

Avakian’s final order, issued on Thursday, had been expected in the dispute that dates from 2013, one of several around the nation involving bakers, florists and photographers who have refused to provide services to same-sex couples on religious grounds, the report said.