GRESHAM, Ore. — Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a Gresham bakery that refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple, has officially shut down.

Melissa and Aaron Klein had refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple back in February 2013. They ended up closing the store several months later due to backlash, but continued the business from home with the help of online donations.

In July 2015, the state ruled Sweet Cakes had discriminated against the lesbian couple, Rachel Bowman-Cryer and her wife, Laurel. The final order awarded a combined $135,000 for emotional damages to the couple.

"This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage. It is about a business's refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is illegal," the bureau's final order states. "Within Oregon's public accommodations law is the basic principle of human decency that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the freedom to fully participate in society. The ability to enter public places, to shop, to dine, to move about unfettered by bigotry."

The Oregon Equality Act of 2007 says businesses cannot discriminate or refuse service based on sexual orientation - just as they cannot turn away customers because of their race, sex, disability, age, or religion.

The Kleins have paid the $135,000 in damages, but that money is currently in a government escrow account because they appealed the decision.

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