‘Gay ke’ row: man los seven-year battle agast Belfast bakery | European urt of human rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• ASHERS 'GAY KE' SE: EUROPEAN URT L SE ADMISSIBLE
• ‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY
• 'GAY KE' ROW: WHAT IS THE DISPUTE ABOUT?
• THE MORAL OF THE GAY WEDDG KE ROW: THE LAW N’T CREATE TOLERANCE
• GAY MARRIAGE KE: CTOMER TAK SE TO EUROPEAN URT
• 'GAY KE' SE: KEY DAT THE LONG-NNG DISPUTE
• 'GAY KE' SE: NORTHERN IRELAND ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS JUDGEMENT AGAST ASHERS WAS WRONG
• ‘GAY KE’ PLAT LED ADMISSIBLE BY EUROPEAN URT
• 'GAY KE' SE: ASHERS BAKERY APPEAL ADJOURNED
• THE ‘GAY KE’ LG IS A VICTORY FOR EQUALY NORTHERN IRELAND
• EUROPEAN URT CL TO TAKE NORTHERN IRELAND ‘GAY KE’ DISCRIMATN SE
• EUROPEAN COURT L NORTHERN IRELAND GAY KE SE ADMISSIBLE
• 'GAY KE' BAKERY DISCRIMATED AGAST CLIENT OVER SEXUAL ORIENTATN, URT TOLD
• 'GAY KE' ROW: BORN-AGA CHRISTIAN BAKERS LOSE URT APPEAL
• NORTHERN IRELAND "GAY CAKE" SE - SUPREME COURT SIS WH BAKERY
• CHRISTIAN BAKERY OWNERS W APPEAL ‘GAY KE’ SE
• WHY THE ‘GAY KE’ SE HAS GONE ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT
• ASHERS BAKERY 'GAY KE' SE: END OF THE HEARG, BUT NOT THE BATE

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

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.

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

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?

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

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. "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.

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

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. 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?

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.

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.

GAY MARRIAGE KE: CTOMER TAK SE TO EUROPEAN URT

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 . ”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.

'GAY KE' SE: KEY DAT THE LONG-NNG DISPUTE

“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. The European Court of Human Rights has livered s lg a long-nng dispute known as the "gay ke" judg lg the actn by applint Gareth Lee as admissible, sayg he had "failed to exhst domtic remedi" available to him the UK ntroversy began 2014 when a bakery Northern Ireland refed to make Mr Lee a ke rated wh the slogan "Support Gay Marriage", a Christian-n firm, refed the orr, sayg the slogan ntravened their relig Lee alleged the firm discrimated agast him and a urt battle News NI looks at the key dat the se.

'GAY KE' SE: NORTHERN IRELAND ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS JUDGEMENT AGAST ASHERS WAS WRONG

Image source, Prs EyeImage ptn, Ashers Bakg Company was found to have discrimated over s refal to make the keNorthern Ireland's Attorney General, John Lark, has told the Court of Appeal that the judgement the se agast a Christian-n bakery that refed to make a ke bearg a slogan supportg gay marriage was is tryg to overturn the lg. The appeal was schled for earlier this year, but was halted after an terventn om Mr Lark was granted permissn to take part the se after senr judg cid Lark had raised an arguable se that sexual orientatn laws Northern Ireland directly discrimate agast those who hold relig beliefs or polil Tuday, Mr Lark gave legal told the urt that "this se is about exprsn" source, QueerSpaceImage ptn, Ashers told the ctomer his requted slogan was agast their Christian fahMr Lark said if was the se where the ctomer Gareth Lee has "been refed some of Ashers excellent cholate eclairs bee he was gay or perceived to be gay then I would be standg on the other si of urt".

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. Media ptn, Daniel McArthur, manager of Ashers bakery, said he believed the unty urt "got the origal lg wrong" appeal by a Christian-n bakery at the centre of a discrimatn se over a so-lled 'gay ke' has been adjourned for three followed an terventn by Northern Ireland's Attorney General.

‘GAY KE’ PLAT LED ADMISSIBLE BY EUROPEAN URT

However, on Wednday, the se was adjourned after Attorney General John Lark QC ma a last-mute requt to make source, Getty ImagImage ptn, In 2015, Ashers was found to have discrimated agast Mr Lee on the grounds of sexual orientatnAnalysis: Mark Simpson, BBC News NI reporterJt when the plited "gay ke" se seemed to nearg s ncln, has sudnly bee even more plex.

'GAY KE' SE: ASHERS BAKERY APPEAL ADJOURNED

They would willgly have ma him a ke whout a “support gay marriage” graphic and they would equally have refed to make such a ke for a heterosexual argument was dismissed by the district judge, who said the rrect parison would have been wh a heterosexual person orrg a ke that said “support heterosexual marriage”. Turng to the qutn of whether the claimant had suffered discrimatn on grounds of his relig belief or polil opn, the judge began by fdg that Lee’s support for the troductn of gay marriage Northern Ireland was ed a polil opn. Europe’s top human rights urt on Thursday led admissible a man’s discrimatn claim agast a Belfast bakery for clg his pro-same-sex marriage ke orr bee of s owners’ relig lg end a years-long legal battle that had raised qutns about civil rights, relig eedoms and sexual orientatn Northern Ireland, a regn of saga also mirrored siar, high-profile s the Uned Stat, where bakeri and other bs recent years have refed to ter same-sex European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, said Thursday that the claim was admissible bee the plaant, gay rights activist Gareth Lee, had failed to voke his rights unr Europe’s human rights nventn as the se ma s way through the Brish urt system.

”The plat was first ma 2014 after Lee notified Northern Ireland’s Equaly Commissn that the Christian-n bakery, Ashers Bakg Co., had nceled his orr for a ke featurg Same Street characters Bert and Ernie and bearg the slogan “Support Gay Marriage. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilyne/File Photo Acquire Licensg RightsBELFAST, Jan 6 (Rters) - A plat of discrimatn prevly dismissed by Bra's hight urt agast a bakery that refed to make a ke wh a pro-gay msage was admissible, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) led on Bakg Belfast was found guilty of discrimatn 2015 for refg to make a ke for a ctomer iced wh the words "Support Gay Marriage" bee of the owners' Christian bakery failed an appeal to the lol urts 2016 but the Supreme Court, the UK's hight judicial body, overturned that cisn two years later, sayg the bakers' objectn was to the msage on the ke, not to any personal characteristics of the msenger, or anyone wh whom he was Lee, a gay rights activist who had orred the ke, argued that the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to him unr the European Conventn of Human Rights. But the ECHR said uld not urp the role of the lol urts after Lee failed to exhst all domtic said this was particularly so Brish-n Northern Ireland, "where there is a large and strong fah muny and where the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTIQ) muny has endured a history of nsirable discrimatn and timidatn.

THE ‘GAY KE’ LG IS A VICTORY FOR EQUALY NORTHERN IRELAND

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.

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. 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)??

EUROPEAN URT CL TO TAKE NORTHERN IRELAND ‘GAY KE’ DISCRIMATN SE

She add: “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. Bee of the long-nng se referred to as the “gay ke” clash between the Northern Ireland Equaly Commissn and a bakery wh Christian ownership has been and out of the news sce row, over whether the bakers should have baked a specific ke, has been to urt before – and to appeal. Ashers Bakery Belfast (Photo: Getty)Gay rights activist Gareth Lee went to Ashers bakery Belfast July 2014 and attempted to orr a wanted the words “Support Gay Marriage” – which is currently illegal Northern Ireland – along wh an image of Ernie and Bert om Same Street and the logo of the Queerspace ke was tend for an Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia and Transphobia event Bangor, Co at the shop, which scrib self as “Christian-owned”, passed the orr to head office, which refed to fill that agast the law?

”The se has st the Equaly Commissn of Northern Ireland £150, 000 so far, while Ashers is beg supported by the Christian ke, which Ashers bakery Belfast refed to bake, was tend to have a picture of Ernie and Bert on wh a msage supportg same-sex marriage Northern IrelandWa, this sounds faiarThere uld two reasons for that: eher bee this se has been gog on for a long time, or bee a very siar is on the go the Uned Masterpiece Cakhop se went all the way to the Supreme Court after the shop refed to sell a weddg ke to a gay uple Colorado 2012.

EUROPEAN COURT L NORTHERN IRELAND GAY KE SE ADMISSIBLE

After 17 hours battlg out a urtroom, the cisn this landmark se is now the hands of District Judge Isobel Lee, the gay rights activist whose requt for a ke wh a gay marriage slogan was refed by Ashers Bakery, looked exhsted by the end of the three day asked at the ncln of the se yterday if he wished to make a ment to the Prs he replied wearily: "Not today, not ever. Objectively a piece of icg would be placed on a piece of ke, " Mr Lee's barrister Rob Allen QC told the Lee had placed an orr for a ke wh the slogan 'support gay marriage' and an image of Bert and Ernie om Same Street. If there's more ligatn on any amend law we will have to grapple wh that, " said Mr his fal submissns to the urt Mr Allen said was the e of the word 'gay' the phrase on the ke that was the e of Mr Lee to be treated differentially.

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

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

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

CHRISTIAN BAKERY OWNERS W APPEAL ‘GAY KE’ SE

WHY THE ‘GAY KE’ SE HAS GONE ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT

ASHERS BAKERY 'GAY KE' SE: END OF THE HEARG, BUT NOT THE BATE