Bert and Ernie gay 'marriage' cake leaves Christian bakery facing court threat

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10952494/Bert-and-Ernie-gay-marriage-cake-leaves-Christian-bakery-facing-court-threat.html

Bert and Ernie gay marriage cake leaves Christian bakery facing court threat

Christian bakery facing legal action from equality quango for refusing to make cake with Sesame Street characters saying ‘support gay marriage’


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02967/bert_ernie_02_2967282b.jpg
Bert and Ernie, with his Rubber Ducky


A Christian-run bakery is facing legal action from a Government agency for refusing to produce a cake carrying a picture of the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie and the slogan “support gay marriage”.

Ashers Baking Co, based in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, cancelled an order for a novelty cake with a picture of the puppets arm in arm printed onto the icing saying that it went against the directors’ religious beliefs.

They believe that producing the cake with the slogan and the logo of QueerSpace, a gay rights group the would-be customer supports, would amount to endorsing the campaign for the introduction of gay marriage in the province, and go against their religious convictions.

But the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has now written to the firm claiming that it is breaking the law.

A letter signed by the legal office orders the firm to “remedy your illegal discrimination” within seven days or be taken to court by the commission.

It claimed that refusing to print the cake amounted to discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation against the man who placed the order.

The Christian institute, which is supporting the bakery, says it is not discriminatory for managers to refuse to endorse a political campaign.

Gay marriage is not legal in Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK in which it is not on the statute book.

Colin Hart, chief executive of the Christian Institute, said: “This is a sign of things to come exactly as we predicted.

“The Government repeatedly failed to listen to members of the public, lawyers, constitutional experts even its own MPs when they called for safeguards to protect those who back traditional marriage, especially those who work in the public sector.

“Now this nonsense, more usually associated with the public sector, is being applied to the private sector.

“This means millions of ordinary people who do not agree with gay marriage, face intimidation and the real threat of legal action from the forces of political correctness if they, out of conscience, decline to provide good or services to campaign groups they do not agree with or support.

“It establishes a dangerous precedent about the power of the state over an individual, or business to force them to go against their deeply held beliefs.”

The customer was unable to comment.

The persecution of those who don't go along with the whole LGBTXYZ dogma continues.

So here we are today, we've actually reached the point in Britain where you can now be taken to court for refusing to bake a cake. It's incredible. What I am interested in though, is what the law would have said had it been the other way around, ie a Jewish bakery refusing to bake a cake with a Nazi symbol on. Or an Islamic bakery refusing to bake a cake with the message 'EAT PORK' printed on it. What would the morons in the fascist Equalities Commission say then?

Good on the (private, not public) bakery for standing up to these intolerant bullies and I hope they're successful.

Thoughts?

[dbgtz]

Whilst I agree with what you're saying, I think comparing it to the Nazi swastika is a bit over the top. At the end of the day, private businesses should have the option to choose who they cater to. If people do not like the fact businesses like these have strong religious beliefs against their own, then they should protest with their wallet and not through forced legislation.

Regardless of that, surely the company would be in breach of copyright(?) anyway by baking a cake with characters that they do not own the rights to?

[MKR&*42]

I actually agree with you here :P They are at full right to decline to produce a cake on any grounds they want and as long as the customer received a refund/never paid, I don't see why the baker should be forced to make such a cake. Fine it's not the most 'morally acceptable' reason to a lot of society, but if a business is choosing not to target 1 market then why such an issue :P

[GommeInc]

Must be hard being the only baker within their radius... As with the B&B case it will probably be blown out of proportion - Stonewall or some other interfering charity will get involved in which really is a private matter between the bakery and the person requesting the cake. A business can refuse a customer, especially in this case (which is far less stricter than the B&B case). It's a political message by someone who does not come under the Equality Act 2010, so in theory it shouldn't really go anywhere other than the bakers saying "Go elsewhere".

There are a lot of rumours going around that this was done on purpose, which would not be surprising. The B&B couple who were refused board looked as they though they too did it on purpose, seeing as they were told explicitly that unmarried couples can not share beds (gay or straight).

I think it's a bit weird that businesses have to have customers forced on them, when customers do have a choice and can go elsewhere. Heck, modern day trading laws support customers in their right to freely choose and nothing is stopping them from going elsewhere.


Regardless of that, surely the company would be in breach of copyright(?) anyway by baking a cake with characters that they do not own the rights to?
They will need a license to do so. They may have one but it seems unlikely.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Indeed Ryan, apparently they did find somewhere else to bake the cake but that wasn't what they were after it appears...


Cutting slices from our hard-won liberty

I don’t care about same-sex marriage. It doesn’t matter. It’s the collapse of heterosexual marriage that’s important. But it does matter when triumphalist sexual revolutionaries force their opponents to act against their consciences.

So please note this bit of the row about the Belfast Christian bakers who declined to bake a gay-themed cake, whose icing would have proclaimed support for same-sex nuptials. Another baker, by the way, happily complied with the order.

But that’s not enough. The Christian bakers may now be pursued through the courts. I cannot see how this can be called a free country if the law has any say in such matters.

If you can be forced by law to publish a view you disagree with on a cake, then presumably you can be forced to do so in a book, a newspaper or a TV programme.