A Belfast bakery did not discriminate against a gay man when it refused to bake a cake with a message supporting gay marriage, the British supreme court has ruled.
The court found that Ashers bakery, whose owners Daniel and Amy McArthur are Christians, did not discriminate against the man and did not refuse to bake the cake for Gareth Lee because of his sexual orientation, religious belief or political opinion.
“They would have refused to make such a cake for any customer, irrespective of their sexual orientation. Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to the personal characteristics of Mr Lee or anyone else with whom he associated,” the court’s president Brenda Hale said.
Mr Lee ordered the cake in March 2014, intending to take it to a party organised by campaigners for same-sex marriage, which remains unavailable in Northern Ireland. He wanted the cake iced with a picture of the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie, with the message “Support Gay Marriage”.
After initially accepting the order, Mrs McArthur told Mr Lee that Ashers could not in conscience produce such a cake and gave him a refund. He had the cake made elsewhere. Read more via Irish Times