The owners of Ashers bakery refused to make a Support Gay Marriage cake
AFTER much soul-searching, which divided even liberals, the Christian owners of Northern Ireland bakery Ashers have lost their appeal against a ruling that their refusal to make a “Support gay marriage” cake was discriminatory.
The appeal judges concluded supplying a cake did not imply the bakers supported the “Support Gay Marriage” message any more than they might support a sports team, and that their religious beliefs did not exempt them from equality laws.
The bakers’ argument highlights a common religious sophistry: gay people are not unequal, they just shouldn’t have access to the institutions of equality.
Neil Barber, Edinburgh Secular Society, Saughtonhall Drive Edinburgh.
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