Northern Ireland bakery refuses to make cake supporting gay marriage Tuesday 08 July 2014 A Christian bakery owner who refused to make a cake with a slogan supporting gay marriage has said he should be allowed to run his business according to his religious beliefs. Ashers Baking Company could face legal action from an equality watchdog after declining an order for the cake with the Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie on top. The gay rights activist customer who ordered the cake also wanted the logo of a campaign group called Queerspace included. The bakery is based in Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage is not legal. The company was named after a verse from the Bible, which refers to "Bread from Asher". Ashers was founded in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, in 1992 and is run by the McArthur family. The Christian directors oversee six shops in Northern Ireland and employ 62 people. General manager Daniel McArthur said: "I would like the outcome of this to be that any Christians running a business could be allowed to follow their Christian beliefs and principles in the day-to-day running of the business and that they are allowed to make decisions based on that." Click here for the rest of the article: http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0708/629217-gay-marriage-cake/
Same-sex marriage is not legal in Northern Ireland. Any business has the legal right to refuse service. While sad, it's not earth shattering and is more of a tempest in a teapot Doesn't mean I agree with the decision but I can understand it. Also Northern Ireland tends to be very reactionary to issues there. Religious and Political.
They should indeed be allowed to operate their business in accordance with their conscience, but...http://www.christianpost.com/news/g...r-lesbian-couple-forced-to-close-shop-103610/