A Northern Ireland equality watchdog issued on 5 November a new legal threat against a Christian-run bakery, claiming that its refusal to produce a pro-gay marriage campaign cake breaches political discrimination laws.
In a 16-page letter, the taxpayer-funded Equality Commission for Northern Ireland demanded that Ashers Baking Company offer compensation to the complainant within seven days, or face litigation.
David v Goliath
The Commission claims that the McArthurs discriminated against a customer on the ground of his political opinion when they declined to decorate a cake with the campaign slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’. But Daniel McArthur, manager of Ashers, said they will not be forced to promote a cause which goes against their conscience. ‘We feel that the Equality Commission are pursuing us because of our beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman’, he said.
‘It feels like a David and Goliath battle, because on one hand we have the Equality Commission who are a public body, funded by taxpayers’ money, with massive resources at their disposal, whereas we are a small family business and we have limited resources at our disposal. We’re continuing to hold to the stand that we took originally because we think that if we do cave in to the Equality Commission at this point it will put pressure on other citizens who are defending their view of traditional marriage.’
Simon Calvert, spokesman for The Christian Institute, said: ‘It is simply baffling for a body supposedly working for equality to be threatening a Christian family, all because of a cake. Is the Commission seriously saying that all business owners have to be willing to promote every political cause or campaign, no matter how much they disagree with it? Does a printer have no right to refuse to print posters for the BNP? The Commission is throwing the kitchen sink at this case, and is wasting tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money in the process.’
The latest letter from the Commission claims that the customer who ordered the gay marriage campaign cake ‘suffered unlawful religious, political and sexual orientation discrimination’.
In September, the Belfast News Letter dis-covered that the Commission only took advice from a senior barrister after its original threat of legal action led to a global media outcry.
