A judge in Northern Ireland has ruled that a Christian-run bakery discriminated against a gay customer by refusing to bake a cake supporting gay marriage.
Ashers Baking Company in County Antrim were taken to court by gay rights activist Gareth Lee and were found to have discriminated against him on the grounds of sexual orientation and his political beliefs.
Lee approached a branch of the bakery in Belfast’s Royal Avenue last year, asking them to bake a cake featuring Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and the message "Support Gay Marriage," in honour of Andrew Muir, Northern Ireland's first openly gay mayor.
The family-run business refused to make the cake, citing religious reasons. General manager Daniel McArthur said the request was “at odds with what the Bible teaches."
Lee subsequently took them to court, and district judge Isobel Brownlie ruled in his favour Tuesday, saying that the family are "conducting a business for profit," not a religious group.
While she acknowledged they “hold genuine deeply-held religious beliefs," she said that government regulations were there “to protect people from having their sexual orientation used for having their business turned down."
She added: “I believe the defendants did have the knowledge that the plaintiff was gay.”
The decision was divisive. Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, called the judgement a "good result for equality," while DUP assembly member David McIlveen said he was "utterly sickened" by the outcome.
Asher's bakery judgement a good result for equality,Gay people have for far too long been discriminated against. We & the law on their side.— Martin McGuinness (@M_McGuinness_SF) May 19, 2015
Utterly sickened that a Christian owned business has been hauled over the coals for refusing to promote something that is not legal in NI— David McIlveen MLA (@DavidRMcIlveen) May 19, 2015