ClimateSanity
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Avakian is the state bureaucrat who went after the business of the Christian bakers, Sweetcakes by Melissa in 2013. The owners, Melissa and Aaron Klein, refused to create a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Though the bakery served gay customers, the couple believed that by participating in the wedding ceremony, they were condoning the marriage, which conflicted with their Christian beliefs. Avakian's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) went after the Kleins, resulting in them being forced to close their business. Aaron Klein tells Independent Journal Review that the state garnished their bank accounts and assets to satisfy a $135,000 fine. In all, he says, the state took $144,000 from them. Oregon political analyst Rob Kremer told Independent Journal Review that Avakian campaigned on the idea that he would use the Secretary of State's office to further his progressive political agenda and — surprisingly — that turned off a lot of Oregon's liberal voters.
Many conservative supporters of same-sex marriage have spoken out forcefully in defense of religious liberties and ideological coexistence in a free, pluralistic society. The power of the state being wielded to punish small businesses for refusing to actively participate in an event that explicitly violates the tenets of their faith (note that the bakery in question didn't deny service to gay customers generally) strikes most Americans as an abusive application of government force. While there were several factors at play in this race, Mr. Avakian was a prominent poster child for aggressive progressive overreach in the culture wars -- which many Democrats are starting to second guess as an overall approach to campaigning and governance. Avakian's Republican opponent prevailed by a comfortable five-point margin in deep blue Oregon, where voters also overwhelmingly rejected (41/59) a major corporate tax increase. "Many voters worry[ied] that it would hit their own wallets," McClatchy reports.
http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/guyb...that-you-probably-havent-heard-about-n2245579
Many conservative supporters of same-sex marriage have spoken out forcefully in defense of religious liberties and ideological coexistence in a free, pluralistic society. The power of the state being wielded to punish small businesses for refusing to actively participate in an event that explicitly violates the tenets of their faith (note that the bakery in question didn't deny service to gay customers generally) strikes most Americans as an abusive application of government force. While there were several factors at play in this race, Mr. Avakian was a prominent poster child for aggressive progressive overreach in the culture wars -- which many Democrats are starting to second guess as an overall approach to campaigning and governance. Avakian's Republican opponent prevailed by a comfortable five-point margin in deep blue Oregon, where voters also overwhelmingly rejected (41/59) a major corporate tax increase. "Many voters worry[ied] that it would hit their own wallets," McClatchy reports.
http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/guyb...that-you-probably-havent-heard-about-n2245579
