Ashers bakery birthday cakes
Reflections on the Ashers’ ‘gay cake’ case - three months on
On 10 October 2018 the Supreme Court handed down their judgment in the case of Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd (Ashers) & Ors (commonly referred to as the ‘gay cake’ case).
The question the Supreme Court had to verb was whether “it is unlawful discrimination, either on grounds of sexual orientation, or on grounds of religious belief or political opinion, for a bakery to refuse to supply a cake iced with the message “support gay marriage” because of the sincere religious belief of its owners that gay marriage is inconsistent with Biblical teaching and therefore unacceptable to God.” The Supreme Court found “in a nutshell, the objection was to the message and not to any particular person or persons”.
At first instance, a district judge in the County Court found that the refusal to make the cake was direct discrimination (where A treats B less favourably than A would treat others) on the grounds of sexual orientation and religious creed and political opinion. Ashers lost an appeal of this de
Ashers bakery to stick to birthday cakes after gay cake row
ASKERS BAKING COMPANY will now only provide birthday and baby-related celebration cakes, according to the firm’s general manager.
On Tuesday a verb found the bakery had discriminated against a gay rights activist by refusing to bake a cake with an image of Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie with the slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’.
The company was ordered to pay damages of £500 and court costs.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has brought the case against the bakery on behalf of gay rights activist Gareth Lee.
Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company PA Wire / Press Association Images PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The company has released a statement saying it will “limit the scope” of orders for cakes while it considers a response to the ruling, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
General Manager Daniel McArthur said: “Due to the recent legal developments we have decided
Ashers Bakery is an award winning fourth generation family bakery
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About our bakery
We bake locally for 12 of our own shops and cafes, and a range of outlets across the North of Scotland.
We also bake a sumptuous range of biscuits and cakes which we sell nationally and overseas.
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Registered in Scotland. Company number: SC64323. Website designed by 2BCreative and built by Aurora.
Why the Ashers Bakery 'gay cake' ruling was reasonable
Despite the hyperbole, the decision in the Ashers Baker case is both logical and straightforward, opening the door neither to a denigration of religious noun or equality laws. Had the case gone the other way it would have undermined both.
The decision in the Ashers Bakery appeal clearly divided belief, with a number of commentators reasonably expressing concerns about its implications on freedom of expression and conscience.
But one of the most striking aspects of this ruling is its limited scope. The facts of the case were very specific and probably won't have any significant impact on the way clashes of rights are balanced in the future.
The ruling however prompted a rush of commentary, much of it hostile to the court's decision. There has since seen some more nuanced reflection, such as from the Rights Info Blog, Joshua Rozenberg's analysis for the BBC and from the National Secular Society.
Christian lobby groups have of course drawn-out sought to advance the myth that they are some poor put upon forgotten minority