The Oregon bakery owners who ignited a national controversy by refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple on Monday quietly paid a state-ordered $135,000 damages award and then some. 
 
 Aaron Klein, co-owner of the shuttered Sweet Cakes by Melissa, walked into the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries' Portland office and handed over a check for $136,927.07, an amount including accrued interest, agency spokesman Charlie Burr said. 
 
 Earlier this month, the labor bureau recovered nearly $7,000 additional funds from the Kleins with the help of the state Department of Justice and a private collections agency, Burr said. The money came from a garnished bank account, he said. 
 
 Aaron and Melissa Klein had refused to pay damages of $135,000 to Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, claiming financial hardship despite three online fundraising accounts set up by supporters that netted them at least $515,000 as of late September. Their reversal of course was first reported by Willamette Week. 
 
 On July 2, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian ordered the Kleins to pay damages for emotional and mental suffering, saying they had violated the women's civil rights by discriminating on the basis of their sexual orientation. 
 
 Rachel Bowman-Cryer visited the Gresham bakery with her mother in January 2013 to order a cake for a civil commitment ceremony. Aaron Klein, working alone that day, turned her away, citing his Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage. 
 
 The women filed complaints with the state, triggering a national debate over the Kleins' claims of religious freedom in the face of anti-discrimination laws that require Oregon businesses to serve the public equally. 
 
 Tyler Smith, a Canby attorney representing the Kleins, said payment of the debt does not mean his clients have abandoned their appeal of Avakian's order. The Oregon Court of Appeals is likely to hear arguments next year but Smith said it made sense to pay now while the case is pending rather than incur additional interest charges. 
 
 The bureau "was attempting to charge interest rates of 9 percent, equating to $35 a day, and seeking to garnish any assets of the Kleins so they couldn't earn interest on the money that had been donated to them," Smith said. "The prudent thing to do, given the generosity of people who have contributed funds, was to take care of it and continue the fight." 
 
 Through their lawyers, the Kleins twice asked Avakian for a stay to delay enforcement of his order while the Court of Appeals considers their case. The commissioner rejected the requests on July 14 and again July 24, citing the amounts raised for the Kleins from crowdfunding sites. State officials subsequently went to court to establish their right to place a property lien or other assets belonging to the couple. 
 
 "We certainly wish (the bureau) would have stayed collections efforts during the course of the appeal," Smith said. 
 
 Altogether, the state has received roughly $144,000 from the Kleins - an amount that Burr acknowledged might be in excess of what was owed as of Monday, Dec. 28. 
 
 "We have been in touch with their lawyers throughout the process," Burr said, providing them with exact amounts due to satisfy the debt. The figure has changed from day to day because of accruing interest. 
 
 If the Kleins have overpaid, the agency will look at returning the difference, Burr said. The Kleins closed their Gresham bakery in 2013 and now operate out of their home in Sandy. 
 
 Paul Thompson, a Portland lawyer representing the Bowman-Cryers, said, "My clients are happy the Kleins paid the fine and are moving forward, and hope to see the ruling upheld on appeal." 
 
 -- George Rede 
 
 grede@oregonian.com 
 
 503-294-4004 
 
 @georgerede ||||| PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The owners of a Portland-area bakery that denied service to a same-sex couple has paid more than $135,000 to cover a legally-binding order from the Bureau of Labor and Industries. 
 
 Charlie Burr, the communications director for BOLI, told KOIN 6 News the agency received a payment of $136,927.07 from Aaron Klein on Monday. That payment followed a collection effort earlier this month that netted about $7000 earlier in December, Burr said. 
 
 Klein and his wife, Melissa, own Sweet Cakes by Melissa. They refused to bake a wedding cake for Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer, which BOLI ruled was unlawful discrimination. 
 
 In July, BOLI said a state exemption for religious organizations and schools does not allow private business owners to deny service to potential customers because of sexual orientation. 
 
 The Kleins closed their Gresham store in 2013 and operate the business from home. 
 
 The case is still being appealed, and Burr told KOIN 6 News BOLI would hold onto all the money until all the appeals are settled. 
 
 In April, the Kleins were the beneficiaries of a crowdfunding account on the Samaritan’s Purse website, an evangelical Christian organization run by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham. 
 
 It’s unclear how much has been donated on that site. More than $70,000 had been raised on a separate GoFundMe site by the time it was taken down. ||||| Let's help the Kleins through this hard time as they fight for religous freedom; which they are not just fighting for themselves but for all of us as our freedoms are threatened. They have been struggling financially ever since they were forced to close the doors of their bakery in 2013 as their income was basically cut in half. If they are forced to pay the damages to the lesbian couple they will be in much worse shape than they are now. They are pioneers in standing strong for the Lord and have been very courageous and steadfast throughout this whole ordeal. Please let's rally around them to help ease the stress of everyday expenses and unexpected urgent needs. Thank you for your desire to help the Klein family, they will certainly appreciate it.
– An Oregon bakery that refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple and then refused to pay the $135,000 damages award that ensued has decided to finally pay up. A spokesman for the state Bureau of Labor and Industries tells KOIN that Aaron Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, paid $136,927.07 on Monday to settle the damages and interest. The spokesman says that with the help of a private collections agency, the bureau had already recovered around $7,000 from a garnished bank account belonging to Aaron and Melissa Klein, who closed their bakery in 2013 and now run the business from home. The couple was ordered to pay damages after authorities decided they had violated the civil rights of the two women who ordered a wedding cake. The Kleins' lawyer tells the Oregonian that they still plan to appeal the ruling, but they decided it didn't make sense to rack up interest charges while the case was pending. "The prudent thing to do, given the generosity of people who have contributed funds, was to take care of it and continue the fight," he says. And supporters have definitely been generous: The Kleins have received more than $515,000 from supporters since their case became national news, including at least $400,000 from a Continue to Give campaign that's still receiving a steady stream of donations. (This baker in Denver refused to make a "God hates gays" cake.)