The ‘gay ke’ fight: why the bakers had a right to refe this orr | Kenan Malik | The Guardian

Contents:

• US SUPREME COURT BACKS COLORADO BAKER'S GAY WEDDG KE SNUB
• 15 CUTE RABOW CAK FOR GAY PRI MONTH
• BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG: 'I DON'T DISCRIMATE'
• I’VE CHANGED MY MD ON THE GAY KE ROW. HERE’S WHY
• THE ‘GAY KE’ FIGHT: WHY THE BAKERS HAD A RIGHT TO REFE THIS ORR
• SUPREME COURT: YOUR BAKERY DON'T HAVE TO BAKE A GAY WEDDG CAKE
• ‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY
• GAY WEDDG KE LG REAFFIRMS THAT BS N’T DISCRIMATE
• 13 GAY BAKERI REFE TO MAKE TRADNAL MARRIAGE CAKE WH THE MSAGE: 'GAY MARRIAGE IS WRONG'
• COLORADO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY UPLE WON'T CREATE ONE FOR GENR TRANSN
• COURT L AGAST OREGON BAKERS WHO REFED TO MAKE GAY WEDDG KE
• GAY BAKER JSE BARTHOLOMEW SAYS LEAVE ANTIGAY BAKERS ALONE
• THE GREAT CHRISTIAN DEBATE OVER WHETHER J WOULD BAKE A CAKE FOR A GAY WEDDG
• 50 CAKES OF GAY

US SUPREME COURT BACKS COLORADO BAKER'S GAY WEDDG KE SNUB

Image source, RtersImage ptn, Jack Phillips has temporarily stopped makg weddg kThe US Supreme Court has led favour of a baker Colorado who refed to make a weddg ke for a gay Colorado state urt had found that baker Jack Phillips' cisn to turn away David Mulls and Charlie Craig 2012 was unlawful the Supreme Court led on Monday a 7-2 vote that that cisn had vlated Mr Phillips' rights.

The nservative Christian ced his relig beliefs refg rights groups feared a lg agast the uple uld set a precent for treatg gay marriag differently om heterosexual the Supreme Court's verdict stead foc specifilly on Mr Phillips' se. The cisn do not state that florists, photographers, or other servic n now refe to work wh gay lg three years after the Supreme Court ma same-sex marriage the law of the land s landmark Obergefell v Hodg source, Getty ImagImage ptn, David Mulls (left) and Charlie Craig wanted a weddg ke to celebrate their planned marriageWhat did Monday's lg say? Jtice Anthony Kennedy wrote that while Colorado law "n protect gay persons acquirg products and servic...

15 CUTE RABOW CAK FOR GAY PRI MONTH

A siar 'gay ke' row is ongog Northern Ireland. The Supreme Court Belfast has yet to release an opn on a lower urt lg that found the owners of a bakery discrimated agast a gay activist for refg to bake a ke wh the slogan "Support Gay Marriage" row began May 2014, when gay activist Gareth Lee placed an orr for a ke wh the gay marriage days later, the Christian-owned Ashers bakery ncelled the orr sayg "would ntradict their relig beliefs". ”An earlier cisn the Kern unty superr urt also went Miller’s way, but was later vated by the fifth district urt of appeal, which sent the lawsu back to the cisn as a Colorado baker is challengg a lg he vlated that state’s anti-discrimatn law by refg to make a ke celebratg a genr baker, Jack Phillips, separately won a partial US supreme urt victory after refg on relig grounds to make a gay uple’s weddg ke a ago.

Rabow k grew populary after a natn-wi ntroversy which a Colorado baker refed to bake a ke for a gay a time when k had sudnly bee ntroversial, alli and members of the LGBTQ muny ed rabow sserts to fight are now a mon stable of Pri celebratns around the We Celebrate PriPri Month is a celebratn of acceptance and love that transcend all sexuali and sexual inti. It is held yearly June to honor the Stonewall Rts of is a ferally regnized observance that often clus paras and public celebratns that are fun for all the events, you’ll be greeted wh a welg atmosphere, a playful ambience, and lots of Meang Behd the Rabow SymbolThe roots of the rabow symbol stem back to a time when beg gay or lbian was not openly those tim, people would wear bright lored articl of clothg as part of their regular wardrobe. Fifteen Bt Rabow Cak for Gay Pri MonthIf you are lookg to bake a lorful claratn of Pri, you are likely siftg through thoands of ias onle and overwhelmed by your, we will discs some of our favore rabow k and how to create them.

BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY WEDDG: 'I DON'T DISCRIMATE'

"The narrow Supreme Court lg lg Phillips’ se applied to the specific facts of his se only and gave ltle ht as to how the urt might ci future s volvg florists, bakers, photographers and other bs owners who have ced relig and ee-speech objectns when refg to serve gay and lbian ctomers the wake of the Supreme Court's 2015 same-sex marriage cisn.

Like most gay and equaly mpaigners, I ially nmned the Christian-n Ashers Bakery Belfast over s refal to produce a ke wh a pro-gay marriage slogan for a gay ctomer, Gareth Lee.

Much as I wish to fend the gay muny, I also want to fend eedom of nscience, exprsn and saga began 2014 when the bakery said was not willg to ice a ke wh the words “support gay marriage” and the logo of the equaly group Queer Space, claimg the msage was ntrary to s Christian beliefs. This stck many of as anti-gay discrimatn based on relig-spired homophobic prejudice. Ashers believ that the relatnships of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) people are wrong and should not be eligible for the stat of marriage.

I’VE CHANGED MY MD ON THE GAY KE ROW. HERE’S WHY

Surely this was an example of clear-cut anti-gay discrimatn? They claim to be Christians, yet J never once nmned homosexualy, and discrimatn is not a Christian value.

THE ‘GAY KE’ FIGHT: WHY THE BAKERS HAD A RIGHT TO REFE THIS ORR

It sought to challenge homophobia. It pas me to say this, as a long-time supporter of the stggle for LGBT equaly Northern Ireland, where same-sex marriage and gay blood donors rema banned.

However, the urt erred by lg that Lee was discrimated agast bee of his sexual orientatn and polil ke requt was refed not bee he was gay, but bee of the msage he asked for. Dpe this, Judge Isobel Brownlie said that refg the pro-gay marriage slogan was unlawful direct sexual orientatn discrimatn.

” Brownlie th nclud that by refg to provi a ke wh a pro-gay marriage wordg Ashers had treated him ls favourably, ntrary to the fdg of polil discrimatn agast Lee sets a worryg precent. Or gay bakers accept orrs for k wh homophobic slurs?

SUPREME COURT: YOUR BAKERY DON'T HAVE TO BAKE A GAY WEDDG CAKE

And the story of how the icg on that ke beme, bizarrely, an exhib the ntemporary culture 2014 Gareth Lee, an LGBT activist, asked Ashers bakery Belfast to make a ke rated wh imag of the Same Street puppets Bert and Ernie, together wh the slogan: “Support gay marriage”. Photograph: Charl McQuillan/Getty ImagHad Ashers refed to serve Lee bee he was gay, or bee of his support for same-sex marriage, then I n see why would be guilty of discrimatn.

‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY

Other Christians prosecuted for preachg hatred clu Michael Overd, nvicted at Bristol crown urt of quotg homophobic passag om the Bible, and Shawn Hol, fed for preachg on the streets of Glasgow that gays served the “wrath of God” that Christians themselv are slow to censor.

Siarly, Christian B&B owners should not be able to turn away gays, even if they believe that homosexualy is a treatment, however, is not the same as forcg someone to exprs particular views. Colorado Civil Rights Commissn, sayg that the baker had the First Amendment right to not bake and rate a weddg ke for a gay uple as that vlated his scerely held relig do this mean for your bs? The urt was reful to note that the baker was willg to make a birthday ke for the gay uple, but not a weddg ke, as he felt that would vlate his relig poted out that no one would expect that a "member of the clergy who objects to gay marriage on moral and relig grounds" uld be "pelled to perform the ceremony whout nial of his or her right to the ee exercise of relign.

The rult would have been different if the baker "refed to sell any goods or any k for gay weddgs. If 's an employee who has an objectn, you would have to offer a reasonable acmodatn to the employee to not participate the speech-related urt specifilly said this se do not ci all other pendg s volvg the nflict between relig views and gay marriage, and they will have to be further hammered out the urts.

GAY WEDDG KE LG REAFFIRMS THAT BS N’T DISCRIMATE

At issue was whether Jack Phillips, a Colorado bakery owner, had broken state antidiscrimatn laws when he refed to make a ke for a gay uple's weddg receptn, cg his relig beliefs. But, jokg asi, here is a list of all the k we will and will not will bake a ke for your gay weddg, but only if you ll a "iendship party" and pretend the multi-tiered nfectn is celebratg a long-lastg, same-genred iendship. Two women weddg drs are simply havg a fun "weddg party, " where they drs up and image what their strong, gged, male hbands will look you would like to purchase a ke for your actual gay weddg, we may be able to work out a promise.

If you are homosexual men, fd a lbian uple who are about to be married, and we will make two k for the four of you, wh a bri-and-groom figure atop each ke. However, out of rpect for our own relig liberti, the ke's msage mt read, "I love J (not a gay way). A man has lost a seven-year legal battle agast a Belfast bakery that refed to make him a ke emblazoned wh the msage “support gay marriage” as the European urt of human rights led that his claim was admissible, promptg disappotment om gay rights Thursday the ECHR, by a majory cisn, said would not rensir the cisn of the UK supreme urt, which had overturned a £500 damag award imposed on Ashers bakery, which is n by evangelil refed to produce the ke, featurg the Same Street puppets Bert and Ernie, 2014 for Gareth Lee, who was a supporter of the mpaign to legalise same-sex marriage Northern Ireland.

13 GAY BAKERI REFE TO MAKE TRADNAL MARRIAGE CAKE WH THE MSAGE: 'GAY MARRIAGE IS WRONG'

Same-sex marriage was legalised Northern Ireland last the supreme urt judgment 2018, after s first hearg Northern Ireland, a Belfast unty urt and a urt of appeal had led that the pany discrimated agast Lee, who is gay, on the grounds of sexual ECHR said the claim was admissible bee the applint had not exprsly voked his rights unr the European nventn on human rights at any pot the domtic proceedgs and had relied solely on domtic said: “The supreme urt found on the facts of the se that the applint was not treated differently on acunt of his real or perceived sexual orientatn, but rather that the refal to supply the ke was bee of the fendants’ relig objectn to gay marriage. “What was prcipally at issue, therefore, was not the effect on the applint’s private life or his eedom to hold or exprs his opns or beliefs, but rather whether Ashers bakery was required to produce a ke exprsg the applint’s polil support for gay marriage. Its puty director, Daniel Holr, said the ECHR’S lg on admissibily left dividuals and anisatns mpaigng on gay rights “vulnerable to a mercial bs refg to provi servic like prtg posters, leaflets, settg up webs etc, through claimg an exemptn to non-discrimatn laws on the basis of ‘’s not you ’s your msage’.

”The ECHR said balancg the rights of Lee and those of the bakery owners, Daniel and Amy McArthur, was “a matter of great import and sensivy to both LGBTIQ muni and to fah muni”, particularly Northern Calvert, a spokperson for the Christian Instute, which backed the McArthurs, lled the cisn good news for ee speech, addg: “It protects gay bs owners om beg forced to promote views they don’t share, jt as much as protects Christian bs owners. That opn, also wrten by Kennedy, exprsed rpect for those wh relig objectns to gay marriage. “Our society has e to the regnn that gay persons and gay upl nnot be treated as social outsts or as ferr digny and worth, ” he wrote Monday.

COLORADO BAKER WHO REFED TO MAKE KE FOR GAY UPLE WON'T CREATE ONE FOR GENR TRANSN

“At the same time the relig and philosophil objectns to gay marriage are protected views and some stanc protected forms of exprsn, ” Kennedy wrote, addg that the “ntral nsiratn to which Phillips was entled was promised here.

“The oute of s like this other circumstanc mt awa further elaboratn the urts, all the ntext of regnizg that the disput mt be rolved wh tolerance, whout undue disrpect to scere relig beliefs, and whout subjectg gay persons to digni when they seek goods and servic an open market, ” the opn stat. “It’s about the right of gay people to receive equal service. Some people might dismiss the prcipl at stake the Masterpiece Cakhop se by argug that a gay uple n simply purchase their ke elsewhere.

COURT L AGAST OREGON BAKERS WHO REFED TO MAKE GAY WEDDG KE

If a pany n refe to sell weddg k to a gay uple on the basis of relig nvictns, n a rtrant also then refe to serve food to a divorcée or an unmarried uple wh a child? | (Photo: Rters/David McNew)Dpe anti-discrimatn laws many stat that require Christian bakery owners to bake k for same-sex weddgs, 13 LGBT and gay-owned bakeri objected to one man's requt when he asked if they'd make a pro-tradnal marriage ke that would read "gay marriage is wrong. Shoebat set off on a vio experiment where he lled 13 bakeri, which are all eher known as gay-owned bakeri or bakeri that strongly support gay marriage, and told them that he was hostg a pro-tradnal marriage celebratn and that he need a ke that says "gay marriage is wrong.

"Shoebat even lled a gay okie shop lled Hot Cookie San Francis and asked if they would make him a pizza-sized okie wh "gay marriage is wrong" wrten on . After she told Shoebat that the bakery would not make the okie, Shoebat told her that the bakery mt not stand for equaly if they're refg to make a okie for a Christian who believ homosexualy is wrong.

"Shoebat rpond by tellg her that although Christian bakers believe that gay marriage is morally wrong, they are still forced to make k for the same-sex weddgs. "All of the homosexual activists California are workg to force Christian bs California to acquice to homosexual opn and thgs that they don't agree wh, " Shoebat asserted. "Technilly, you are discrimatg agast people like me, when you refe to make a ke that says 'gay marriage is wrong.

GAY BAKER JSE BARTHOLOMEW SAYS LEAVE ANTIGAY BAKERS ALONE

Although every time Shoebat was nied and tried to start a bate about why the bakery was not standg for equaly, most of the reprentativ jt hung up on his poted ethil majory of short rpons that Shoebat recevied om bakery workers noted that his requt went agast their "belief" gay Christian bs owners have felt the stly impact of vlatg their state's anti-discrimatn laws after they nied service based on their biblil "belief" the tradnal fn of marriage, which stat that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

"I am a man who believ gay marriage is wrong. DENVER — A Colorado baker who refed to make a weddg ke for a gay uple on relig grounds — a stance partially upheld by the U. But the urt did not le on the larger issue of whether bs n voke relig objectns to refe service to gays and Alliance Defendg Freedom, a nservative Christian nonprof law firm, reprented Phillips the se and filed the new lawsu.

THE GREAT CHRISTIAN DEBATE OVER WHETHER J WOULD BAKE A CAKE FOR A GAY WEDDG

The se stat, part: "We take great pri takg on employers who discrimate agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people and servg them their jt sserts. Jse Bartholomew is a gay man who mak k for a livg (and he evintly took a cue om his vanilla ostg when choosg hairstyl).

50 CAKES OF GAY

Related: Blame Islam, Not Christiany, For Antigay Weddg Cake Bakers, Rh Limbgh Says.

Here’s but a taste; a fluffy slice of his two-mute, Chris-Crockerque monologue: “I nnot tell you how disgted I am wh my fellow gay and lbian muny that they would stoop so low as to force someone to bake a ke for them who simply don’t agree wh them, and before you n go and blame me and say that, that, this is, that, they have to — no, they don’t have to; they don’t have to bake a ke for you, and personally, that weddg ke should be so personal to you and your weddg, jt as the rg, jt as the vatn, jt as to everythg planng a weddg; that ke which sts hundreds and, my ke, the k I bake n st thoands… why would you want to spend hundreds or thoands of dollars on a weddg ke and pay that money to someone who don’t want to bake the ke for you — are you stupid? Related: Homophobic Bakers In Oregon Are Back, Now Servg “Ex-Gay” Cak Out Of Their Home. Incintally, homophobic Sweet Cak by Melissa Bakery has subsequently raised $358K a crowdfundg mpaign — a fact that uld make the most even-keeled person reach for the peroxi and start screamg to a Logictech mera.