A Christian baker in the US state of Iowa may face legal action and has been sent hate mail after she politely told a lesbian couple that she could not make them a wedding cake.
Victoria Childress, who runs a cake baking business from home, said: “I didn’t do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle.”
She also commented: “I did not belittle them, I did not speak rudely to them. There were no condescending remarks made, nothing.”
Convictions
Lesbian couple Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers thanked her for being honest. However, they may lodge a civil rights complaint over the incident.
Victoria owns Victoria’s Cake Cottage in Des Moines, Iowa, and has received hate messages for her actions.
But she has also received support for her actions: “People are telling me they were proud of me for standing up for my beliefs because not many people do that these days.”
Support
The lesbian couple released a statement which said: “Awareness of equality was our only goal in bringing this to light, it is not about cake or someone’s right to refuse service to a customer.”
They said they hoped “we have prevented someone else from experiencing the same type of bigotry”.
Earlier this year in Canada homosexual activists protested outside the home of a Christian florist because she would not provide flowers for a lesbian wedding.