Bakers lose court appeal over conviction for refusing to make pro-gay marriage ‘Bert and Ernie’ cake
A CHRISTIAN baking firm which refused to decorate a cake with the words "Support Gay Marriage" have lost an appeal against a decision that said it was unlawful.
Ashers Baking Company had been seeking to overturn a previous court ruling that it had acted unlawfully by refusing to decorate the cake with the slogan.
The high-profile case was heard before three senior judges at Belfast's Court of Appeal back in May where it was claimed the outcome would have implications for freedom of expression across the UK.
During a four day hearing, barrister David Scoffield QC, acting for Ashers, said the bakers could not have made the cake because the message was inconsistent with their deeply held religious beliefs.
He said there was clear evidence Ashers believed it would have been "sinful" to have done so.
However a lawyer representing the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, which brought the law suit on behalf of gay rights activist Gareth Lee, claimed the firm had not been forced to do anything against its beliefs.
Robin Allen QC told the court many businesses printed messages they did not believe in - such as making posters for election candidates.
In delivering the appeal judgment today, Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said Ashers had directly discriminated.
He rejected the argument that the bakery would be agreeing with the slogan by baking the cake.
"The fact that a baker provides a cake for a particular team or portrays witches on a Halloween cake does not indicate any support for either," he said.
The appeal was lodged after a judge at Belfast's County Court found the bakers had breached equality laws by refusing to make the cake.
Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, had wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the phrase Support Gay Marriage for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia.
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He paid the £36.50 in full at Ashers' Belfast city centre branch but was called two days later and told the company wouldn't be making his order.
Ashers claimed it did not know Mr Lee was gay when refusing his order.
Owner and born-again-Christian Karen McArthur said she knew in her heart she could not make the cake but had taken the order to avoid a confrontation in the shop.
Daniel McArthur, the company's general manager, also claimed his family could not go against their religious beliefs, despite the legal consequences.
Mr Lee claimed he was left feeling like a lesser person as a result of the refusal.
District Judge Isobel Brownlie said religious beliefs could not dictate the law and ordered the firm to pay agreed damages of £500.
An earlier appeal had been scheduled for February but was postponed so Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin QC, who advises top politicians on legal matters, could intervene.
Mr Larkin claimed it was a "very great wrong" to make someone say something which clashed with their religious beliefs.
Ashers, a name with Biblical connotations, has six branches, employs more than 80 people and delivers across the UK and Ireland.
Throughout the legal battle it has been supported by The Christian Institute, which has organised public rallies and garnered financial backing for the case.
Outside court, Daniel McArthur said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling.
Standing with his father Colin, mother Karen and wife Amy, he said the family would be taking legal advice on whether there was a way to appeal against the judgment.
"If equality law means people can be punished for politely refusing to support other people's causes then equality law needs to change," he said.
"This ruling undermines democratic freedom, it undermines religious freedom and it undermines free speech."
Thanking all the family's supporters, he ended his comments with a passionate declaration of his Christian faith.
"It's been a trying time but we are thankful to God and his faithfulness to us through everything - he is still on the throne, he is the ruler of heaven and of earth and he is our God and we worship and we honour him," he said.
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