Christian Family face possible legal action

Such a complex issue this one. This cake was for an LGBT event at my local town hall, in Bangor. 100 yards from that town hall is a well known bakery specialising in making customised cakes. However, the order was placed in Asher's bakery at the opposite side of Belfast, at least 15 to 20 miles away. Make of that what you will. After the refusal by Ashers to ice the cake (they had no objection to baking the cake itself) with the specific message, guess where the order was finally placed and fulfilled? Yes....the bakery near the town hall!

I am not saying this was a set up but struck me as a bit odd. Did The owners of the bakery discriminate against the customer as they did not know their sexuality? Indeed, they took the order for the cake in the first instance. It was the message they had a problem with, advocating gay marriage, rather than homosexuality per se.

Thorny one, around who has rights, I agree. I am still unsure of where I stand on the prosecution but it seems to have been regarded by the judge as a test case.

I don't think it is complex at all. If you run a business which must conform to the law--then you conform to the law. If you do not want to run a business that has to conform to certain laws then don't run the business. The owners of the bakery has now decided to stop making cakes other than birthday cakes or childrens cakes so that they do not have to make the same decision again. I do wonder tho, what they will do if asked to make a cake saying "to Edward, love from your husband George".
The rights of a person who wishes to discriminate because of their chosen religious world view should not be held to be above the law. And they are not. Thank goodness

Well said.

I think that the cake shop will have to go out of business.

Hello, soon. Have a nice day.

Eh?

You want the shop to go out of business?

And yet you understand why they cant ice the cake.

I think the whole thing should have been thrown out of court. It was obviously a set up and the judge should have taken that on board and told the complainants to grow up.

Jing - well said

I didnt realise that posters had hate in their hearts over this. I feel very sad indeed.

I am sorry to non christians, but we cannot throw out the bible. And we didnt make the rules.
And God does exist, no matter the consequences to ourselves. We are stuck too, in life and over cakes!
But we cant do anything either.
If businesses, and their are many many many businesses run by people of faiths, have to close, then so be it.
It wouldnt be because of not loving people, but because of following God.

I agree that it was a set-up and a test case and done with malicious intent imo. The judge should have done as jingl suggested.
I am not anti-anyone but I do not understand how the law worked in this unique case.
I thought you could offer goods or items for sale but are not contractually obliged to sell goods or services if you do not wish to.

Whaaat?! [confused?]

You do know sermons are not allowed on GN don't you?

My post was to the usual suspect

I do jingl. I cant see how that is a sermon in the slightest. Not like any I have heard, that is for sure.

.........and it is Sunday.

But we wicked heathens are not in church.

Oh soontobe you can't see that there isn't hate there. It is not a case of "If you are not for me, you are against me" It is possible to be tolerate both sexual and religious differences, though it has taken a long time for humanity to recognise that possiblity.

There is not hate, but love, but it is for all people, not just those who love God, not just those who follow him, but also for those who don't follow God, or whose love for one another doesn't fit the conventional pattern. If God made and loves the heterosexuals, He also made and loves the homosexual ones.

If He didn't make and love one lot, then He didn't make and love the others, they are interchangable as far as He is concerned. Doesn't it say somewhere that there will be no marrying in heaven, or giving in marriage? So sexuality is completely irrelevant to God and religion, it is purely an earthly thing to continue the species - and "to provide comfort one to the other" It is not a lifestyle choice, it is an inbuilt instinct - that has been shown.

I don't like this case at all - I agree that it was a test case, the order could have been placed in a much better way, without all the confrontation and heartache, and those who placed it were acting in a narrow way themselves.

But placed it was, and the law is that it is illegal to discriminate against anyone for their sexual orientation. If the baker had been cleared of that, others could have discriminated in much more serious ways - hatred, violence - and argued that they had the right. No-one is asking you to join them, just tolerate them.

I hope that is not construed as a sermon!

Me too! Pretty poor job!

I dunno. Wishing people a spot of sunshine would be a pretty good sermon - and short!

I will be back later. After lunch.

It would be a fine sermon. Imagine the congregation leaving the church, all scratching their heads and wondering, 'what the hell?!'

To be honest, I originally meant my own post, which I think soontobe's sunshine crossed with - but I reckon it would be an excellent sermon that went "The sun is shining. Get out there and enjoy it, everyone, all of you, whatever your religious beliefs or any other idiosyncracies."

Gosh yes, God loves everyone.
But the rest of the Bible cant be ignored or sidelined.
I dont think that there is going to be agreement here, so perhaps best left by me at this point.