Texas Baker Denies Same-Sex Couple a Wedding Cake

A Kilgore, Texas couple was denied a wedding cake after their favorite baker told them that making a cake for a same-sex wedding would violate her faith.

According to a report by the Longview News-Journal, Ben Valenica and Luis Marmolejo walked into Kerns Bake Shop last week to inquire about pricing a cake for their March nuptials, but when asked by business owner Edie Delorme who the cake was for, the two were met with a not-so-sweet response.

"When they said it was them, I said, 'Sorry. We don't provide cakes for homosexual marriages,'" Delorme told the News-Journal.

"It just kind of makes you feel dehumanized," said Valencia. "People shouldn't have to worry about going into a business, especially a public business that serves the public, and have to worry about being turned away for something, for who you are."

This isn't the first time a queer couple has been denied service by a bakery that cites antigay faith. In December of last year, the co-owners of Portland-based bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa paid a $136,927 fine to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, stemming from a 2013 incident when they refused a cake for a lesbian couple's wedding. The owners, who cited their religious beliefs, were able to raise more than $500,000 in crowdfunding to pay the fine.

Unlike Oregon, however, Texas doesn't have laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination, so there's little that can be done legally in response to Delorme's and the bakery's actions.

Watch the complete video report by the Longview News-Journal.