Two Des Moines, Iowa-area bakeries are
coming to the rescue after a baker denied a wedding cake to a lesbian
couple.
Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers were
told by Victoria Childress, owner of Victoria's Cake Cottage, that
her religious convictions would not allow her to sell them a wedding
cake for their upcoming ceremony.
“They came in and she introduced
herself, and I said, 'Is this your sister?' [She said,] 'No, this is
my partner.' I said, 'OK,' and I asked them to sit down and I said,
'We need to talk,'” Childress
told KCCI. “I said, 'I'll tell you I'm a Christian, and I do
have convictions.' And I said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not
going to be able to do your cake.”
“I didn't do the cake because of my
convictions for their lifestyle,” Childress added. “It is my
right as a business owner. And it's not to discriminate against
them.”
Amanda Laurich, who owns and operates
Three Chicks Bakery out of her home, and The Devilish Pig Bakery
co-owners Dana Schaub and Cythia Hendrickson disagreed with
Childress' move.
“I have a lot of gay friends and gay
family members,” Laurich said. “If any of them wanted to get
married, I wouldn't want them to go through the stress or feeling
disappointed and having that take away from the thing that should be
really special for their day.”
“To have someone say, 'Well, I'm
sorry because your lifestyle is different from mine, I'm not going to
take care of you and help you. And I don't want your business,' It's
wrong on so many levels,” Schaub said.
“As Christians, we are supposed to be
unselfish, and do things for the greatest good of mankind, and not
pass judgment,” Hendrickson added.