The moral of the gay weddg ke row: the law n’t create tolerance | Simon Jenks | The Guardian

Contents:

• 'GAY KE' ROW: WHAT IS THE DISPUTE ABOUT?
• ASHERS 'GAY KE' SE: EUROPEAN URT L SE ADMISSIBLE
• ‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY
• ‘GAY KE’ PLAT LED ADMISSIBLE BY EUROPEAN URT
• 'GAY KE' LEGAL CHALLENGE THROWN OUT AFTER SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE
• 'GAY KE' BAKERY DISCRIMATED AGAST CLIENT OVER SEXUAL ORIENTATN, URT TOLD
• THE MORAL OF THE GAY WEDDG KE ROW: THE LAW N’T CREATE TOLERANCE
• ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• ASHERS 'GAY KE': MAN REFED KE BY BAKERY HAS DISCRIMATN SE THROWN OUT
• CHRISTIAN BAKERS WHO REFED TO MAKE ‘GAY KE’ LOSE DISCRIMATN APPEAL
• I’VE CHANGED MY MD ON THE GAY KE ROW. HERE’S WHY
• UK SUPREME URT BACKS BAKERY THAT REFED TO MAKE GAY MARRIAGE KE
• NORTHERN IRELAND BAKERS GUILTY OF DISCRIMATN OVER GAY MARRIAGE KE
• GAY MARRIAGE KE: CTOMER TAK SE TO EUROPEAN URT
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• 'GAY KE' ROW: BORN-AGA CHRISTIAN BAKERS LOSE URT APPEAL
• NORTHERN IRELAND "GAY CAKE" SE - SUPREME COURT SIS WH BAKERY

'GAY KE' ROW: WHAT IS THE DISPUTE ABOUT?

The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a legal challenge a long-nng dispute known as the "gay ke" se, lg the actn ECHR is the latt urt to have s say the long-nng all started 2014, when a bakery Northern Ireland refed to make a ke wh a slogan supportg same-sex 's a look at how the se reached Strasbourg:What about the bakery?

ASHERS 'GAY KE' SE: EUROPEAN URT L SE ADMISSIBLE

He had wanted them to make a ke that clud a slogan that said "support gay marriage" along wh a picture of Bert and Ernie om Same Street, and the logo of the Queerspace the time, same-sex marriage was still illegal Northern Ireland, but the law has sce changed and same-sex weddgs have been takg place sce Febary ke was beg missned for a civic event Bangor, County Down, to mark Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia and at the bakery passed the orr to s head office, which nsired to be "at odds" wh their beliefs. Durg the heargs, a lawyer for the bakery argued the issue was "the ke, not the ctomer" of the bakers, Karen McArthur, said she did not know Mr Lee was gay and would not have mattered as they would not have been prepared to make a ke wh a pro-same-sex marriage slogan for anyone. Image ptn, Gareth Lee sued Christian-n Ashers bakery for refg to make a ke rated wh the slogan "Support Gay Marriage"A gay rights activist has lost a seven-year discrimatn dispute over a ke orr as the European Court of Human Rights led his se Lee started legal actn back 2014 after a Christian-n Belfast bakery refed to make him a ke wh the slogan "Support Gay Marriage" fay firm Ashers said the slogan ntravened their Christian European urt led Mr Lee's se admissible, sayg he had failed to exhst all optns the UK Belfast man has long argued that by refg to fulfil his orr, the bakery had discrimated agast him on grounds of his sexual orientatn and polil Lee then took his se to the European Court of Human Rights, where was examed by seven judg who cid, by majory, that should be long-nng dispute has raised qutns about relig eedom and discrimatn their lg on Thursday, the judg said the se was admissible bee Mr Lee had not voked his rights unr the European Conventn of Human Rights "at any pot the domtic proceedgs" the UK judg cid that orr for a plat to be admissible, "the Conventn arguments mt be raised explicly or substance before the domtic thori" ptn, BBC News NI looks at the key dat the "gay ke" se"By relyg solely on domtic law, the applint had prived the domtic urts of the opportuny to addrs any Conventn issu raised, stead askg the urt to urp the role of the domtic urts.

The se began 2014, when Mr Lee vised a Belfast branch of Ashers Bakery, and asked them to bake a ke rated wh the gay marriage source, Getty Image/Charl McQuillanImage ptn, Gareth Lee said he was trated that the se had been dismissed on a "technily"At the time, same-sex marriage was still illegal Northern Ireland, but the law has sce changed and same-sex weddgs have been takg place sce Febary ke Mr Lee requted was to feature an image of Bert and Ernie, two characters om the children's TV programme Same Street, and the logo of the mpaign group, Lee paid £36.

50 for a ke and left the shop, but a few days later, bakery staff lled him to say they uld not plete the orr bee of the slogan and would refund his Bakg Company is n by the McArthurs, a Christian fay om County Lee said the cisn to refe his orr had ma him feel "unworthy" and a "lser person" plaed to the Equaly Commissn for Northern Ireland, who supported him takg a discrimatn se agast the fought the se, argug they had not turned Mr Lee's ctom away bee he was gay, but bee he had asked them to produce somethg that was ntrary to their relig is the European Court of Human Rights? It was disappotg to see another attempt to unrme those rights, so is a relief that the attempt has failed, " Mr Calvert source, Getty Imag/Leon NealImage ptn, Amy and Daniel McArthur photographed after their UK Supreme Court victory 2018However, the Rabow Project, a Belfast-based gay rights mpaign group, said the UK Supreme urt cisn had created legal uncertaty for LGBT people when accsg goods and servic and Thursday's ECHR lg had not rolved that uncertaty.

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

"If the judgement had gone the other way, a gay baker uld have been forced by law to acce to requts to rate k wh msag opposg LGBT+ equaly, " he ptn, Gay rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell said he had great sympathy for Gareth Lee but that he did not believe Ashers had discrimated agast him"I support protts agast Ashers over their hostily to LGBT+ equaly but I nnot endorse legal pulsn to require them to promote a msage wh which they profoundly disagree. 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. 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.

‘GAY KE’ PLAT LED ADMISSIBLE BY EUROPEAN URT

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. A legal challenge by a Northern Ireland gay rights activist who claimed he was discrimated agast when a bakery refed to make a ke wh a slogan supportg same-sex marriage has been dismissed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) urt clared the actn admissible and said the applint, Gareth Lee, had "failed to exhst domtic remedi" available through the UK the lg, published yterday, a majory of seven judg said Mr Lee had not voked his rights unr the ECHR “exprsly at any pot the domtic proceedgs” relyg solely on domtic law, they said, “the applint had prived the domtic urts of the opportuny to addrs any Conventn issu raised, stead askg the Court to urp the role of the domtic urts” 2014, Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT group QueerSpace, orred a ke om Belfast-based bakery Ashers – a Christian-n firm.

It was to feature the Same Street puppets Bert and Ernie and the slogan "Support Gay Marriage" took legal actn – which beme known as the ‘gay ke’ se – allegg discrimatn on the grounds of his sexualy after Ashers ncelled the orr due to the msage on the ke, which nflicted wh their Christian Lee, who was supported by the Northern Ireland Equaly Commissn, won his se and a subsequent appeal the Northern Ireland urts, but the bakery owners, the McArthurs – who were backed by the Christian Instute – took the se to the Supreme Court, which found favour of the bakery 2018.

'GAY KE' LEGAL CHALLENGE THROWN OUT AFTER SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE

A se seven years the makg, but after years of liberatns back and forth, Europe’s top human rights urt has tossed the so-lled "gay ke" se the a lg, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Strasbourg said the se which the Northern Irish gay-rights activist, Gareth Lee, brought agast the UK was "admissible" bee at no pot the domtic proceedgs had he voked his rights unr the European nventn on human rights. "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. "Back 2014, when same-sex marriage was still illegal Northern Ireland, Lee went to Christian-n Ashers bakery Belfast to orr a ke wh the slogan "Support Gay Marriage", featurg Same Street characters Bert and Ernie.

'GAY KE' BAKERY DISCRIMATED AGAST CLIENT OVER SEXUAL ORIENTATN, URT TOLD

The bakery ially accepted the orr but 48 hours later hand back the payment to Lee, who had asked for a ke featurg the Same Street puppets Bert and had orred to mark last year’s electn of the first openly gay mayor Northern Ireland as well as to ci wh Internatnal Day agast Homophobia last said should have been obv to Ashers that the person makg the requt for an iced pro-gay marriage slogan was gay himself. To my md, a better parallel would be the Catholic Herald refg to publish an anti-Catholic gay marriage is still illegal Northern Ireland is a grim ment on Bra’s long and petent ctodianship of Ulster’s ernment. The effect was to rtore native Amerin practic, but also to licence state legislatur to allow discrimatn agast gay marriag on grounds of is adamant that the secular law mt enjoy primacy any morn society.

A COMPLAINT BY Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee that he was discrimated agast when the Christian owners of a Belfast bakery refed to make him a ke iced wh the slogan “Support Gay Marriage” has been led admissible by the European Court of Human Rights.

She is thought to be the first openly gay prime mister the was an active unnist her nearly 10 years workg as a flight attendant, acrdg to the Council of Women World Lears, a work of female heads of state. ”Xavier Bettel Prime Mister of Luxembourg (2013-prent)Luxembourg Prime Mister Xavier Bettel at a news nference Belgra, Serbia, on July Vojovic / APBettel was first elected prime mister of Luxembourg 2013, and 2018 he beme the first openly gay prime mister the world to be re-elected for a send marriage beme legal Luxembourg 2015, and the same year Bettel beme the first servg European Unn lear to marry a same-sex partner, the BBC recently cricized a Hungarian law that bans school tnal materials and TV shows for people unr 18 that are emed to promote LGBTQ ntent, Rters reported.

THE MORAL OF THE GAY WEDDG KE ROW: THE LAW N’T CREATE TOLERANCE

“Hopefully this will blow over three or four days, and then I won’t be known as the gay mister, ” she told The Associated Prs at the Varadkar Prime Mister of Ireland (2017-20, 2022-prent)Irish Prime Mister Leo Varadkar Bssels on June 30.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Strasbourg, north-eastern France, has led agast the Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee, scribg his applitn as "admissible", a statement released this morng says.

"We believe this leav an ambiguy whereby dividuals and anisatns across Europe actively mpaigng on gay rights would be particularly 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'. 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.

ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI

A Belfast bakery n by evangelil Christians was not obliged to make a ke emblazoned wh the msage “support gay marriage”, the supreme urt has led, overturng a £500 damag award imposed on unanimo cisn by the UK’s hight urt was greeted as a victory for ee speech but nmned by gay rights groups and the Equaly Commissn of Northern Ireland as a backward step batg had refed to produce the ke, featurg the Same Street puppets Bert and Ernie, 2014 for Gareth Lee, who supports the mpaign to legalise same-sex marriage Northern Ireland. He wanted to take to a private functn markg Internatnal Day Agast judgment, livered after the supreme urt’s first hearg Northern Ireland May, revers earlier cisns Belfast unty urt and a urt of appeal lg that the pany discrimated agast Lee, who is gay, on the grounds of sexual five jtic on the supreme urt – Lady Hale, Lord Mance, Lord Kerr, Lord Hodge and Lady Black – found the bakery did not refe to fulfil Lee’s orr bee of his sexual orientatn and therefore there was no discrimatn on those grounds.

“The bakers uld not refe to supply their goods to Mr Lee bee he was a gay man or supported gay marriage, but that is que different om obligg them to supply a ke iced wh a msage wh which they profoundly disagreed.

The US supreme urt reached a siar ncln another bakery se June, when led favour of a Colorado baker who had refed to produce a weddg ke for a gay uple the lg, Lee said: “I’m very nfed about what this actually means. ”The Rabow Project, Northern Ireland’s largt support anisatn for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) people, exprsed s disappotment at the #Ashers lg is an historic and semal judgement.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

A Northern Ireland bakery has been found guilty a landmark lg of discrimatn for refg to bake a ke wh a pro-gay marriage Bakg Company received worldwi support om evangelil and born-aga Christians over s refal to make the ke for a lol gay rights activist the a judge Belfast high urt on Tuday led that the fay-owned firm was guilty of discrimatg agast Gareth Lee on the grounds of sexual orientatn.

ASHERS 'GAY KE': MAN REFED KE BY BAKERY HAS DISCRIMATN SE THROWN OUT

However, she poted out that ernment regulatns were there “to protect people om havg their sexual orientatn ed for havg their bs turned down” judge add: “I believe the fendants did have the knowledge that the platiff was gay. ”Ashers was orred to pay agreed damag of £500 pl urt firm was acced of discrimatg on the grounds of sexual orientatn agast Lee, a volunteer wh gay rights mpaign group asked Ashers Belfast’s Royal Avenue to bake the ke last year to mark the electn of the first openly gay mayor Northern Ireland, Andrew reported the bakery to the Equaly Commissn for Northern Ireland after reversed an earlier agreement to bake the ke wh the pro-gay marriage the three-day urt hearg March, Lee said the cisn by Ashers cisn to hand back the £36.

However, Lee, through the Belfast-based gay rights lobby group, the Rabow Project, said he would not be makg any statement relatn to the ’ general manager, Daniel McArthur, said the fay were extremely disappoted wh the judgment. ”Rpondg to the guilty verdict, Northern Ireland’s puty first mister, Mart McGuns, tweeted: “Asher’s bakery judgment a good rult for equaly, Gay people have for far too long been discrimated agast.

Lawyers reprentg a man om Northern Ireland who sued a bakery for refg to make a ke wh pro-gay marriage msage are gog to Europe to challenge a supreme urt lg that s evangelil Christian owners had a right to refe to bake . Belfast human rights law firm Phoenix Law nfirmed on Thursday had been stcted by Gareth Lee to take his se to the European urt of human rights (ECHR) was told by Ashers bakery 2014 that would not make a ke wh the msage “Support Gay Marriage” on bee was ntrary to the owners’ relig years later the supreme urt reversed earlier cisns at Belfast unty urt and urt of appeal that Ashers had discrimated agast Lee on the grounds of him beg judg on the supreme urt, which 2018 sat for the first time Northern Ireland, found that the bakery did not refe Lee’s orr bee of his sexual orientatn.

CHRISTIAN BAKERS WHO REFED TO MAKE ‘GAY KE’ LOSE DISCRIMATN APPEAL

They led therefore that there was no discrimatn on those Lee’s legal team are now argug the ECHR that the supreme urt lg should be overturned bee bakg the ke did not imply “the bakery supportg (exprsly or implicly) the msage of the ke” lawyers ntend that no reasonable person would equate producg the ke for an dividual private ctomer wh the bakery supportg the pro-gay marriage msage on .

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

”Belfast bakery ws gay ke discrimatn lg – vioLee’s lawyer Ciaran Moynagh add: “We’re ncerned the lg this se allows any pany, s shareholrs or owners to hold relig or polil views and those views tmp the rights of s ctomers. “The bakers uld not refe to supply their goods to Mr Lee bee he was a gay man or supported gay marriage, but that is que different om obligg them to supply a ke iced wh a msage wh which they profoundly disagreed, ” the five judg the ntroversy first flared up, Northern Ireland was still the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage was not regnised law. A bakery Northern Ireland owned by evangelil Christians has lost an appeal to overturn a nvictn that found guilty of discrimatn for refg to bake a pro-gay-marriage themed urt of appeal Belfast on Monday upheld a prev judgment last year that Ashers Bakery had discrimated agast a ctomer on the grounds of sexual fay-owned firm the origal se was also orred to pay £500 pensatn to the lol gay rights activist Gareth Lee, whose legal actn was backed by the Equaly Commissn for Northern had tried to buy a ke pictg the Same Street characters Bert and Ernie below the motto ‘Support gay marriage’ for an event to mark Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia Ashers se has received ternatnal attentn, and highlighted the tensns between gay rights reformers and the polilly fluential and socially nservative born-aga Christian lobby wh Northern three appeal judg on Monday were Northern Ireland’s lord chief jtice, Sir Declan Man, and Lord Jtic Weathep and liverg their judgment, Man rejected the argument of lawyers for Daniel McArthur and his fay that the bakery would have been endorsg gay marriage equaly by bakg the ke.

UK SUPREME URT BACKS BAKERY THAT REFED TO MAKE GAY MARRIAGE KE

The party has nsistently blocked proposals the assembly om other parti cludg their ma partners ernment, Sn Fé, to legalise gay a four-day hearg at the urt of appeal Belfast earlier this year, lawyers for the McArthur fay said they challenged the fdg bee their ey would have been sful for them to plete the their legal battle to overturn the lg, the McArthur fay won the support of Northern Ireland’s attorney general, John Lark the hearg May, the attorney general argued urt that the McArthur fay was entled to nstutnal protectn for turng down a ctomer’s orr based on their personal relig beliefs. Followg Monday’s lg one of the ma gay rights anisatns Northern Ireland weled the judg’ O’Doherty, the director of the Rabow Project, said: “Ashers Bakg Company entered to a ntractual agreement to make this ke and then changed their md. You n refe a service based on your beliefs (ie I'll give you a ke, but not a ke wh a slogan I don't believe ), but what if fg that service mak a direct discrimatn of the ctomer (ie you won't allow a gay uple to share a room a hotel, they n 2 rooms, but not share)??

And you jt KNOW that if the urt had led favour of the gay uple, well then bigots all over would now be trollg ke shops askg them to make anti-gay marriage k and then forcg them to ply or get sued. From my unrstandg, homophobia is havg a prejudice agast LGBTQ a discrimatory manner but if someone were to say "You are fully wh your right to be gay but I don't agree wh bee of X" then is that nsired homophobia?

NORTHERN IRELAND BAKERS GUILTY OF DISCRIMATN OVER GAY MARRIAGE KE

From my unrstandg, homophobia is havg a prejudice agast LGBTQ a discrimatory manner but if someone were to say "You are fully wh your right to gay but I don't agree wh bee of X" then is that nsired homophobia?

GAY MARRIAGE KE: CTOMER TAK SE TO EUROPEAN URT

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

'GAY KE' ROW: BORN-AGA CHRISTIAN BAKERS LOSE URT APPEAL

NORTHERN IRELAND "GAY CAKE" SE - SUPREME COURT SIS WH BAKERY