'Gay cake' row: born-again Christian bakers lose court appeal

[rug]

Judges uphold ruling that Ashers Bakery discriminated against gay man by refusing to make cake with pro-gay marriage slogan

Henry McDonald
Ireland correspondent
Monday 24 October 2016 06.55 EDT

A bakery in Northern Ireland owned by evangelical Christians has lost an appeal to overturn a conviction that found it guilty of discrimination for refusing to bake a pro-gay-marriage themed cake.

The court of appeal in Belfast on Monday upheld a previous judgment last year that Ashers Bakery had discriminated against a customer on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The family-owned firm in the original case was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to the local gay rights activist Gareth Lee, whose legal action was backed by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Lee had tried to buy a cake depicting the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie below the motto ‘Support gay marriage’ for an event to mark International Day Against Homophobia in 2014.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/24/born-again-christian-ashers-bakery-lose-court-appeal-in-gay-cake-row

1:33 video at link.

[apcalc]

1. If they can't bake a cake for WHOEVER walks in, they need a new line of work.

[rurallib]

2. Mike Pence: You're needed in Northern Ireland! Stat!

[rug]

3. I had no idea this was going on in the UK too.