The Ashers Baking Company case was heard from 9–12 May. The Lord Chief Justice cited the Irish referendum as a reminder that not everyone who supports gay marriage is gay, as the McArthur’s reiterated that their concern was with promoting a message on a cake, not the unknown orientation of the customer.
David Scoffield QC told judges at the Court of Appeal in Belfast that discrimination must be against ‘another person’, not an idea or an object (like a cake).
Scoffield told the court. ‘If a heterosexual person had asked for the same message on the cake they would have had the same response.’
Court got it wrong
He added that the County Court got it wrong last year when it ruled that ‘support for same sex marriage was indissoluble from sexual orientation’. The QC also warned that a ruling which says Ashers did discriminate would breach the McArthur family’s human rights.
He explained that under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), freedom of thought and religion are protected, including freedom to witness to your convictions and live them out.
