Ashers Baking Company is fighting a discrimination case once again. A gay man is to challenge the UK Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of a Christian bakery after it found that he was not discriminated against when his cake order was refused. The case goes back to 2014 when Gareth Lee tried to order a cake with a pro-gay marriage message. The cake was for a campaign event calling for the introduction of same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland and was to feature the logo of the Belfast-based campaign group, QueerSpace. The order was turned down because the messaging of the cake conflicted with the beliefs of Ashers’ Christian owners, the McArthur family. Mr Lee claimed discrimination and the courts found in his favour when the Equality Commission took legal action. The verdict was then upheld by the Court of Appeal before a surprise ruling last year by the UK Supreme Court determined that the owners of Ashers had been within their rights to refuse a cake order because of objections to the messaging. The Supreme Court concluded that people should not be compelled to express a view they do not agree with. Crucially, it ruled that the objection of […]
