A court in landmark ruling accused
a Christian-run bakery of discriminated when it refused to make a cake
supporting gay marriage.
A bakery that refused to ice a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan discriminated on grounds of sexual orientation, a court has found.
A bakery that refused to ice a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan discriminated on grounds of sexual orientation, a court has found.
The ruling, made by
district judge Isobel Brownlie at Belfast County Court, brings to an end a
landmark legal action.
Gareth Lee had asked
Asher's Bakery to ice the cake depicting Sesame Street characters Bert and
Ernie and the logo for the campaign group Queerspace.
N Ireland is the only part
of the UK where same-sex marriage is illegal
The company initially
accepted his request but after consideration declined it because "it was
at odds with our beliefs and with what the Bible teaches".
Northern Ireland's publicly
funded Equality Commission brought a civil action, alleging that the bakery
breached its statutory duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual
orientation.
Mr Lee told the court he
was left to feel "like a lesser person" when the bakery, based at
Newtownabbey, County Antrim, contacted him.
"I wasn't worthy of
service because they were Christian. That was the message that struck me. It
made me feel not worthy, like I'm a lesser person and to me that is
wrong," he said.
The McArthur family which
owns the bakery chain told the judge they "could not stand before
God" and produce a cake supporting same-sex marriage.
Speaking before the ruling,
General Manager Daniel McArthur defended the decision, saying: "We happily
serve everyone but we cannot promote a cause that goes against what the Bible
says about marriage.
"We have tried to be
guided in our actions by our Christian beliefs.”
Judge Brownlie said she
believed the McArthur family had "genuine and deeply held religious
beliefs" but said they must have been aware Mr Lee was gay and were aware
of the ongoing same-sex marriage debate.
She added: "They
(Ashers) are in a business supplying services to all. The law requires them to
do just that."
A business should have the choice to say no if it's against believe. Is the same as accusing a Muslim, or asking a muslim brother to cook n serve non-hala or pork meat in their restaurant.
ReplyDeleteA business should have the choice to say no if it's against believe. Is the same as accusing a Muslim, or asking a muslim brother to cook n serve non-hala or pork meat in their restaurant.
ReplyDeleteWell too bad
ReplyDeleteUK is a christian country put a stamp on it
ReplyDelete