Northern Ireland Bakery Discriminated Against Gay Customer, Court Finds
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Version 0 of 1. DUBLIN — A Belfast court ruled on Tuesday that a Northern Ireland bakery discriminated against a customer by refusing to provide a cake with the words “Support gay marriage” inscribed on it. District Judge Isobel Brownlie of Belfast County Court told a packed courtroom that Ashers Baking Company was guilty of discriminating against the customer, Gareth Lee, because of his sexual orientation. Judge Brownlie acknowledged that the owners of the bakery, the McArthur family, had “genuine deeply held religious beliefs,” but she said that legislation was in place “to protect people from having their sexual orientation used for having their business turned down.” The judge added that the bakery must have known or at least perceived that Mr. Lee, who is a gay rights activist, was homosexual. The case, brought on behalf of Mr. Lee by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, was opposed by the bakery with support from a British advocacy group, the Christian Institute, which paid its defense costs. Mr. Lee agreed to accept 500 pounds, or about $773, in damages. Explaining the rationale for the long-awaited ruling in a case that has attracted worldwide attention, Judge Brownlie said that the defendants were not a religious organization and that they conducted their business for profit. As such, she said, they were obliged to provide a service to everyone. In the United States, a bill in Indiana that critics said could have made it easier for religious conservatives to refuse to serve gay men and lesbians was modified this year after it drew sharp criticism, particularly from major companies, as was a similar measure in Arkansas. Mr. Lee ordered the cake in a Belfast branch of the Ashers bakery chain in May 2014 for a private function to celebrate the election of Andrew Muir as the first openly gay mayor in Northern Ireland. Aside from the wording, it was to feature the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie. After initially accepting the order, the bakery called Mr. Lee a few days later to inform him that it would instead be refunding his money. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that does not recognize same-sex marriage. The Democratic Unionists, the largest party in the local assembly, have voted it down four times in the past three years. Mr. Lee declined to comment after the case, but in a statement his lawyer said his client would donate the award to charity. The general manager of the bakery chain, Daniel McArthur, told reporters after the ruling that he wanted to thank supporters, some of whom called for him to appeal the decision. “Most of all we are thankful to God, who has been faithful to us throughout all of this as we carry this burden in the future,” he said. |