The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bakers’ relief at winning ruling over ‘gay cake’
Judges support Christian owners who rejected same-sex marriage message
The Christian owners of a bakery at the centre of the so-called “gay cake” case expressed their “delight and relief” after winning a Supreme Court appeal over a claim that they had discriminated against a customer.
Five justices at the UK’s highest court allowed a challenge by the McArthur family, who run Ashers bakery in Belfast, in a unanimous ruling in London.
The legal action was originally brought by gay rights activist Gareth Lee, who claimed he had been discriminated against when the firm refused to make him a cake iced with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage”.
Mr Lee initially won his case in the county court and then at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, but the McArthurs then challenged those rulings at a Supreme Court hearing in Belfast in May.
Speaking outside court after the ruling yesterday, the bakery’s general manager, Daniel McArthur, who attended court with his wife Amy, said: “We’re particularly pleased the Supreme Court emphatically accepted what we’ve said all along – we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself.
“I know a lot of people will be glad to hear this ruling today, because this ruling protects freedom of speech and freedom of conscience for everyone.”
Controversy first flared when Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a £36.50 cake in 2014 featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie for a function marking International Day Against Homophobia.
His order was accepted and he paid in full but, two days later, the company called to say it could not proceed due to the message requested.
Mr Lee, who was supported by Northern Ireland’s Equality Commission, was present at the ruling.
He said: “I paid my money, my money was taken and then a few days later it was refused. That made me feel like a second-class citizen.
“I’m concerned not just for the implications for myself and other gay people, but for every single one of us.”
In a statement announcing the court’s decision, its president, Lady Hale, said the McArthur family hold the religious belief that “the only form of marriage consistent with the Bible and acceptable to God is between a man and a woman”.
Lady Hale said: “The bakers could not refuse to supply their goods to Mr Lee because he was a gay man or supported gay marriage, but that is quite different from obliging them to supply a cake iced with a message with which they profoundly disagreed.”