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Meet the baker who lost his business over gay wedding cakes

September 30, 2014
 Wilson

Writer

Glenn interviewed Aaron Klein on radio today, he and his wife own and operate Sweet Cakes by Melissa. They were targeted and attacked after they declined to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. The media labeled this hate, but these bakers had actually served this particular couple several other times. The only reason they declined is because this wedding cake went against their own personal religious beliefs. Watch the interview and judge for yourself -- does this sound like a hateful person?

Below is a rush transcript of this segment:

GLENN: So glad that you're here today. I want to -- I'm really excited to introduce you to a couple that you knew the story of. You know the story about the Christian baker who lost their shop in Oregon because they refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Well, I met the -- I met the Klein's. I met Aaron and Melissa Klein, what, Saturday in Washington, D.C. and there's a great story on them on the Blaze today. But I really want you to hear from Aaron himself and is Melissa with you or not.

AARON: No. Melissa is at home with the kids. I'm actually at work.

GLENN: You guys lost your bakery. Tell me the story quickly in your own words of what happened.

AARON: Well, you know, marriage was defined by the State of Oregon's Constitution as between a man and a woman up until I believe it was May of this year. Our belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. And the Bible coincides with that.

You know, we -- we -- you know, we had a small bakery. We did wedding cakes. Birthday cakes. All sorts of cakes.

In January 2013, we had a gal come in and asked us to basically create a piece of artwork for something the Bible clearly states is, you know, not the definition of marriage. So through all this, we've ended up losing our shop due to some really mean-spirited tactics that was used by -- I wouldn't say all the LGBT community. Because we met quite a few of them that are really nice, but there are some that really wanted us to close our doors. And through everything that's been done. You know, they've harassed the wedding vendors that we did business with. They protested. Boycotted. In fact, there's still an only boycott on Facebook going on. And I get it. They killed the wedding end of our business and we did have to close our doors last September. And, you know, I went to back to work driving trucks. So...

GLENN: Now, I saw the wedding cakes. My father was a baker, and he was one of the best cake decorators I'd ever seen. Since he was a little boy, he worked in my grandfather's bakery, and all he wanted to do was decorate cakes. And so he just -- he ice cakes and ice cakes and ice cakes over and over again. And he was just an amazing artist. I've seen your wedding cakes. They're absolutely beautiful. I've met you guys this weekend. You guys have this in your DNA. So what are you going to do now?

AARON: The thing is, we dedicated everything we did in our shop to the glory of God just as we do everything else in our lives. It's all an act of worship. To go against what the Bible says -- how can you glorify God when you're doing something strictly against what his Word says.

GLENN: Before you go any further, I want to read something your wife said in the story on the Blaze: Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is, you disagree with somebody's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. Second is that to love someone means you must disagree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense.

So if I'm a listener and I'm hearing you talk about this, you're talking about the Bible an awful lot, and I'm a listener, and I don't believe the Bible and I'm hearing, okay, get over the Bible thing and whatever. You're a hater. Can you address that and kind of what your wife said in The Blaze story?

AARON: Okay. She posted that to a business page. And that's a quote from Rick Warren. So yeah, it's very true. It's not about hate. It's not about -- it's strictly about adhering to our faith. I don't expect everybody to agree with me, but I expect that I would get the freedom the constitution provides me to do that.

GLENN: So if somebody comes into your -- this is where I am -- look, I believe what I believe. But if you're gay or lesbian, you're telling me you can't change your point of view. Well, I'm telling you the same thing about my lifestyle. I believe in God.

There's times I don't want to believe in this stuff. It's not easy. Just like you would say if you're gay, it's not easy being gay in today's world. I know. It's not easy to be religious in today's world as well. So we have that in common.

So what you choose to do with your life is your deal, man. That's your deal. This is mine. Can't I respect you and say, first of all, why do you want a cake made from somebody who doesn't believe you're doing the right thing? And second of all, just go find somebody else to make a cake. I don't hate you. Can't I have my right to who I am as well?

AARON: And that's what it is in a nutshell. We have no problem making cakes for anybody, any sexual preference. It was that specific event, you know. And, like I said, down there in D.C. they're return customers. It was not the first time they came in. It was not about hate. It was not about discrimination. It was strictly about the definition of marriage and what I believed to be true.

GLENN: So you knew them? They were repeat customers. Did you know them more than just, hey, thanks very much for stopping by. Did you know them?

AARON: They had come in and actually ordered a wedding cake for one of the girl's moms and paid for it a couple years prior. I'm horrible with names and faces. So I didn't recognize her right off the bat. It wasn't until I actually got the complaint from the DOJ that I realized who it was.

STU: You brought up a great point, too, which is the Oregon constitution specifies that marriage is between a man and a woman. This is an amendment approved in 2004 by 13 points in Oregon. I mean, they're basically asking you to make a cake for an event that the constitution says is illegal.

PAT: And then you lost your place because of it. That's --

AARON: The odd part about it is the state of Oregon was actually in violation of their own statute. All the county clerks of the state of Oregon were not issuing same-sex marriage licenses, which actually puts them in violation of their own statute. They're expecting me to abide to something the state itself won't abide by, which is very ironic and hypocritical.

PAT: How did you guys not turn out -- I mean, you don't sound bitter about all this. I think I would have been.

AARON: Well, if you read the book of James, it says to consider it pure joy when you're persecuted for the name of Christ. If they're going to persecute me for standing by God's word, then it's pure enjoy.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I met you guys, Pat was pissed at me because I didn't walk you over to his highness Pat, but he was like, they were there? I didn't meet them? I'm like, I'm sorry your royal highness, but my wife spent some time talking to you both, and I found you both very reasonable, kind, courteous, quiet, gentle, I really felt you guys were really good people, which is good to know. Because there are some people like, yeah, them gays, I'll tell you what. You know, what is that?

AARON: That attitude is not an attitude of love. We're supposed to show the love of Christ to all people we meet. To be downright spiteful and hateful would be wrong, and that's me. Despite the lies that have been spread, it's not about that. You know, I liken it to: If your child wants to go run and play in the streets, they might throw a fit if you tell them no. But you don't let them do it, because that's not loving. In this situation, by no means am I calling anyone a child, but I'm saying I won't help someone do something that might be detrimental to their salvation.

GLENN: It doesn't matter what you think is right or wrong about me. You tell me about my lifestyle. You know, stand in line. I got a lot of people telling me what to do. What matters to me is that we all retain our right to be who we are and really celebrate diversity. They have a right to go do that. Go do that. That's fine.

PAT: It's amazing that wasn't a violation of your religious sensibilities. It's amazing to me that somehow the Constitution, the first amendment didn't protect you guys.

AARON: Yeah. It's totally being ignored by this administrative court. They've totally ignored all constitutional rights. In fact, they've said it's not allowed in the court. The attorney general of the state of Oregon has to take care of that. I don't know. It's a totally different scenario. Brad Avakian, the Commissioner of Bureau, Labor, and Industry, seems to be the judge, the jury, and the executioner.

GLENN: So have you changed your mind at all on like where you live and what you do and --

AARON: I actually don't live in the Portland metro area. You know, and honestly, we're supposed to be salt and light. If I go run and hide, I can't be salt and light. That's one of those things where, you know, change of venue might be nice, but then, again, I'm going to go where God leads me.

STU: This brings up an interesting question, which is, when do we get cake?

GLENN: I thought your interesting question was going to be this: We have 400,000 square feet down in Texas, why don't we have a bakery there?

PAT: That's an excellent question.

GLENN: I do believe a few things fall into place. We may have to have our own bakery at the studios. I'm just saying.

Aaron, God bless you and your wife, Melissa. I urge everyone to read the article on the Blaze. Aaron or maybe Melissa gave a great compliment, they said thank you for having a website that actually cared about getting the story right. I can't imagine how many stories were written about you two and it was not -- it wasn't exactly accurate.

AARON: Yeah. Well, a lot of them were just down right dishonest. But yeah, we really appreciate TheBlaze doing such a good job of telling the truth and telling it like it is. And it was really nice meeting you guys and I appreciate all you do.

GLENN: Thank you very much and it probably was -- the highlight was not meeting Pat. Aaron, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

AARON: Not a problem.

His record 'speaks for itself': Jason Whitlock on why President Trump is gaining with black voters

Image source: Video screenshot

In the final days before the 2020 election, President Donald Trump is gaining among black voters, particularly men, because his record of accomplishments "speaks for itself" and the "façade" that President Trump is a racist "just doesn't ring true," argued sports columnist Jason Whitlock on "The Glenn Beck Radio Program" Tuesday.

Jason, who recently interviewed the president at the White House for OutKick.com, shared his thoughts on why he believes many black Americans — notably celebrities such as Kanye West, Ice Cube, and 50 Cent — are breaking from the "façade" that President Trump is a "flaming racist."

"I really believe the facts are starting to speak for themselves, and that Donald Trump's record of accomplishments, particularly as it relates to African Americans, speaks for itself," Jason told Glenn. "He actually has a record to stand on, unlike even Barack Obama. When [Obama] was president, I don't think he had much of a record to stand on, in terms of, 'Hey, what did he actually deliver for African Americans?' President Trump has things he can stand on and, you know, beyond that I think black people understand when he starts talking about black unemployment rate. And America's unemployment rate. And then, when you add in for black men, the façade we've been putting on [President Trump] … you know, this whole thing that he's some flaming racist, it just doesn't ring true."

Jason suggested that Trump's fearlessness, unabashed masculinity, and record of keeping his promises resonates with men in the black community. He also weighed in on how media and social media's bias plays a huge role in convincing people to hate President Trump while ignoring Antifa and others on the Left.

"I keep explaining to people, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, they're some of the most secular places on earth. And we've reduced everyone to a tweet, that we disagree with," he added.

Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

Megyn Kelly: Media coverage of President Trump is ‘DISGUSTING’

Megyn Kelly is not happy about the "disgusting" media coverage of President Donald Trump, specifically pointing to Lesley Stahl's "60 Minutes" interview on CBS Sunday.

On the radio program, Megyn told Glenn Beck the media has become so blinded by the "Trump Derangement Syndrome" that they've lost their own credibility — and now they can't get it back.

"It's disgusting. It's stomach-turning," Megyn said of the media's coverage of the president. "But it's just a continuation of what we've seen over the past couple of years. Their 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' has blinded them to what they're doing to their own credibility. They can't get it back. It's too late. They've already sacrificed it. And now no one is listening to them other than the hard partisans for whom they craft their news."

Megyn also discussed how she would have covered the recent stories about Hunter and Joe Biden's alleged corruption. Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:


Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

WITCH HUNT: The left has TERRIFYING plans for Trump supporters if Biden wins

Imagine sometime next year, getting called before HUWAC – the House Un-Woke Activities Committee.

"Are you or have you ever been a member of the un-woke?"

Something like that is not as far-fetched as you might think.

Last week, Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration, now a UC Berkeley professor, tweeted this:

Since the 1970s, there have been dozens of "Truth Commissions" around the world like the kind Robert Reich wants in America. Most of these have been set up in Africa and Latin America. Usually it happens in countries after a civil war, or where there's been a regime change – a dictator is finally overthrown, and a commission is set up to address atrocities that happened under the dictator. Or, as in the commissions in East Germany and Czechoslovakia, atrocities under communism. Or, in the most famous example, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation commission addressed the decades of apartheid that ravaged that nation.

These commissions usually conclude with an official final report. These commissions and reports have served as a means of governments trying to close a dark chapter of their country's history, or provide emotional catharsis, as a way to generally move on. Sometimes it kind of works for people, most of the time it leaves people clamoring for more justice.

Here's how one professor described truth commissions in an article in The Conversation last year. He wrote:

The goal of a truth commission… is to hold public hearings to establish the scale and impact of a past injustice, typically involving wide-scale human rights abuses, and make it part of the permanent, unassailable public record. Truth commissions also officially recognize victims and perpetrators in an effort to move beyond the painful past… Some have been used cynically as tools for governments to legitimize themselves by pretending they have dealt with painful history when they have only kicked the can down the road.

See, this is the problem with a lot of "Truth" commissions – they are inherently political. Even if you trust your government and give them all the benefit of the doubt in the world that their Truth commission is trying to do the right thing, it is ALWAYS going to be political. Because these truth commissions are never set up by those who have LOST power in government. They're always established by those who have WON power.

The Deputy Executive Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice says one of the main points in these Truth commissions is that "the victims become protagonists."

A Department of Anti-racism is entirely within the realm of possibility.

So, who are the victims in Robert Reich's America? People like him, members of the far-Left who had to endure the atrocities of four years of a president with different political ideas. What an injustice. I mean, the left's suffering during the Trump administration is almost on the level of apartheid or genocide – so we totally need a Truth commission.

There have been lots of calls for the U.S. to have its own Truth and Reconciliation commission, especially around racial injustice.

This past June, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California introduced legislation to establish the " United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation."

Ibram X. Kendi – the high priest of anti-racism, and author of Target's current favorite book " Antiracist Baby" – proposes a Constitutional anti-racism amendment. This amendment would:

establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees. The DOA would be responsible for pre-clearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won't yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas. The DOA would be empowered with disciplinary tools to wield over and against policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas.

If you think that is far-fetched, you haven't been paying attention to the Left's growing radicalism. In a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration, a Department of Anti-racism is entirely within the realm of possibility. And of course, such a DOA would never stop at policing government.

We're in a dangerous, precarious moment in our history. Given the events of 2020, should Democrats gain the White House, the Senate, and the House, how many commissions will be in our future? They will suddenly have plenty of political capital to drag the nation through years of commission hearings.

And the Left's form of justice is never satisfied. You think it will stop at a T&R commission on race? MSNBC's Chris Hayes tweeted this month about the need for a commission to deal with Americans who are skeptical about wearing masks:

Or what about a Truth commission on religion? I mean, look at those reckless churches spreading Covid this year. Or this would be a big one – a T&R commission on climate change deniers.

The Left is highly selective when it comes to truth. That's why they are the very last group you want in charge of anything with "Truth and Reconciliation" in the title.

This is one of the most incredibly frustrating things about the Left in America today. The Left insists there is no such thing as absolute truth, while simultaneously insisting there are certain approved truths that are undeniable.

So, you can't question "Science" – even though that's pretty much what every great scientist in history did.

You can't question racism as the explanation for all of existence – because, well, just because.

You can't question third-party "Fact-checkers" – because the powers that be, mainly Big Tech right now, have decided they are the Truth referees and you have to trust what they say because they're using certified external fact-checkers. They just forgot to tell you that they actually fund these third-party fact-checkers. It's like if McDonald's told you to trust third-party health inspectors that they were paying for.

The Left thinks it has a monopoly on Truth. They're the enlightened ones, because they've had the correct instruction, they're privy to the actual facts. It's psychotic arrogance. If you don't buy what they're selling, even if you're just skeptical of it, it's because you either don't have the facts, you willingly deny the facts, or you're simply incapable of grasping the truth because you're blinded by your raging racism problem. It's most likely the racism problem.

The Left never learns from its own preaching. For the past 60-plus years they've decried the House Un-American Activities Committee for trying to root out communists, getting people canceled, ruining Hollywood careers, etcetera. But a HUAC-type committee is precisely what Robert Reich is describing and many on the Left want. It's not enough for Trump to be voted out of office. Americans who helped put him there must be punished. They don't want reconciliation, they want retribution. Because the Left doesn't simply loathe Donald Trump, the Left loathes YOU.

Glenn Beck: President Trump’s final debate performance was  'BRILLIANT' — here's why

President Donald Trump's performance at last night's final presidential debate was "brilliant" and "the best he's ever done," Glenn Beck said on the radio program Friday.

Glenn described the moments he thought President Trump came across as "sincere," "kind," and "well-informed," as well as Joe Biden's biggest downfalls for of the night — from his big statement on wanting to eliminate the oil industry to his unsurprising gaffes as the debate neared the end. But, the question remains: was Trump's "brilliant performance" enough to win the election?

Watch the video be low to get Glenn's take on the final debate before the November 3 election:


Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.