A Cross, a Cake, and a Crisis: Two Attacks on Religious and Economic Freedom

Religious freedom and economic freedom are increasingly intertwined. Today, both are under attack. Two legal disputes highlight how both can be under attack at once. The first is the case of the Bladensburg Peace Cross, a 93-year-old World War I memorial, which a federal appellate court recently declared unconstitutional after the State of Maryland took the land on which it sits through the power of eminent domain. The second is the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. For failing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, the State of Oregon fined the Kleins $135,000 and thus put them out of business.