The Gay Cake
May 2014, Gareth Lee ordered a cake in Ashers Bakery. The desired cake supported gay marriage and gay right activist, Gareth Lee wanted the slogan 'support gay marriage' but was refused service by the owners due to their beliefs. Being Christians, the owners decided they wouldn't make the cake for Lee because it clashed with their religious beliefs, and the case was taken to court. The court ruled in favour of Le, deciding that Ashers Bakery had discriminated against him due to his sexuality. However, the owners of the bakery are appealing this decision, and the case is yet again being taken to court; the Supreme Court will hear to the case this week in Northern Ireland. It's expected that the Court's decision to whether the bakery owners are guilty of unlawful discrimination will be handed down late in 2018, or early 2019.
Discrimination against people's sexuality, and other protected characteristic, has always been an issue in society, with hate crime spawning from this. 61% of young members of the LGBT community have reported that they have experienced verbal homophobic abuse, and 18% said they had experienced physical abuse due to their sexuality, in the UK. The issue extends outside of the UK, with 64% of gay and transgender Americans saying discrimination is a major problem in the USA. Laws such as the 2010 equality act aim to prevent discrimination by making it a criminal offence.
Personally, I believe the owners of Ashers Bakery to be in the wrong. They started their business and opened it to the public, they must have been aware of the diversity of people who would use their business. To claim that they cannot serve an individual because who the are and what they are asking for goes against their beliefs and ideology, is ridiculous; if you’re going to own a buisness where the public can use it, it’s my belief that you have to put your views and beliefs aside, and focus on serving the customers- being professional.
Reference;
Page, Chris, and the BBC. (2018). 'Gay cake': Ashers Bakery case to be heard at Supreme Court. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-43955734. Last accessed 1st May 2018.
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