Ohio bakery refused to make birthday cake for a lesbian
A bakery in Ohio is under fire, after refusing to make a birthday cake for a married lesbian.
Candice Lowe had visited Take the Cake Bakery in Toledo to order a birthday cake for her wife Amanda.
But days later she was stunned to receive a text informing her that the order had been cancelled, because the owner did not approve of gay weddings.
Speaking to ABC13, Mrs Lowe said she was stunned by the text – given nothing about the cake had anything to do with her wife’s sexuality, and did not reference their relationship.
She said: “It wasn’t a wedding cake, it was just a birthday cake. A birthday cake has nothing to do with your sexual preference.
“Are you saying that because we’re gay we can’t eat cake? That’s crazy.
“After [the baker] saw my Facebook page, she found out that I was in a same-sex marriage and she could not do my cake.
“They should learn that they can’t just discriminate against someone’s sexual preferences, especially over something as simple as a cake.”
The pair had been married for just two weeks – and had been celebrating their honeymoon in Florida when their order was cancelled.
The text read: “Candice, I’m sorry… I realised your [sic] in a same sex relationship and we do not do cakes for same sex weddings or parties… I’m so sorry. I wasn’t aware of this exactly until I saw your page. Take care :)”
Candice was left angered by the message – especially as the cake was meant to be a surprise for her wife, who saw the text.
Amanda Lowe said: “She went through all that effort to get a cake, and gets a text message and has to tell me her surprise… it kind of ruined our day.”
Nick Komives, the executive director of Equality Toledo, said: “A story like this makes me pretty angry inside because I know it could happen to me at any time, as well.
“We don’t necessarily hear about it happening in our own backyard and it does make me a little bit upset.
“We’ve been working really hard to show that Toledo is welcoming to LGBT people.”