COURT RULING
Irish bakers who refused to make ‘gay cake’ win UK case
‘Their objection is to the message on the cake,’ the UK’s highest court rules
London — The UK’s highest court says the owners of a bakery in Northern Ireland did not discriminate against a customer when they refused to make a cake with icing that spelled out the words “support gay marriage”. The Supreme Court in London unanimously agreed to allow an appeal by the bakers after a gay-rights activist had successfully argued in the lower courts that he had suffered discrimination on the grounds of his sexual orientation. The five judges said the law did not oblige the bakers to make a cake featuring a message with which they disagreed. “The bakers did not refuse to fulfil his order because of his sexual orientation, their objection is to the message on the cake,” said Judge Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court. “The bakers’ objection is to the message not to the man.” Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage is not allowed. The British government maintains that the decision should be left to local authorities. The family-run Ashe...
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