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  1. #1
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    Bert and Ernie gay marriage cake refused by Northern Ireland bakery

    ''Ashers Baking Company accused of discrimination after refusing to make cake featuring gay pressure-group slogan''







    A Northern Ireland bakery run by devout Christians could face legal action after it refused to make a gay-themed cake depicting the Sesame Street couple Bert and Ernie.

    Ashers Baking Company published a statement on its website defending its decision to refuse to bake the cake as the slogan above the puppets was in support of gay marriage.

    Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where gay marriage is still not legal. That ban is expected to face a challenge later this year, firstly in the high court in Belfast, with the possibility of the action going all the way to the European court of human rights.

    Northern Ireland's first openly gay mayor, Andrew Muir, has backed legal action against the bakery, saying businesses should not be able to pick and choose who they serve.

    In its statement, the firm's general manager, Daniel McArthur, said: "The directors and myself looked at it and considered it and thought that this order was at odds with our beliefs. It certainly was at odds with what the Bible teaches, and on the following Monday we rang the customer to let him know that we couldn't take his order."

    McArthur said the company had offered to fully refund the customer, who wanted to have the logo of the pressure group QueerSpace on the cake.

    The 24-year-old businessman, whose company was established in 1992, runs six shops in the region and employs 62 people, confirmed he had received a letter from the Equality commission for Northern Ireland.

    He said: "We thought that was the end of it, but approximately six weeks later we received a letter from the Equality commission. The commission's letter said that we had discriminated against the customer on the grounds of his sexual orientation."

    McArthur said he was very surprised by the watchdog's letter and had asked the Christian Institute, an evangelical pressure group, for advice. The institute supports the bakery's stance and is providing legal assistance.

    McArthur said: "I feel if we don't take a stand on this here case, how can we stand up against it, further down the line?"

    He added that it was not the first time his company had refused cake orders: "In the past, we've declined several orders which have contained pornographic images and offensive, foul language."

    Muir, the outgoing mayor of North Down and a gay member of the centrist Alliance party, said the Bert and Ernie cake was for an event he was hosting in the constituency in May. He said it was ordered to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May.

    "Businesses should not be able to pick and choose who they serve," he said, adding that he would be supportive of legal action against the bakery.

    "For Northern Ireland to prosper and overcome our divisions we need a new society where businesses are willing to cater for all, regardless of religious views, political opinion, disability, race, age, sexual orientation, marital status, gender and other backgrounds.

    "I was pleased that another bakery, in Bangor, was able to step in and produce this cake for the event I hosted as mayor of North Down. We were able to ensure that this event went ahead, despite the actions of Ashers Bakery, and enjoyed a great afternoon celebrating the vibrant diversity Northern Ireland enjoys."

    Gavin Boyd of the gay rights organisation the Rainbow Project, said the firm "cannot have their cake and eat it" in relation to equality legislation in Northern Ireland. "The law on this matter is clear. Companies may not pick and choose the laws that apply to them and they cannot pick the sexual orientation of their customers," Boyd said.

    The Equality commission for Northern Ireland said: "In this case the commission has granted assistance to the complainant, and has written to the company concerned on his behalf. The commission will consider any response before taking further action."






    I have actually ate in this bakery a few times , and pass it regularly.

    I most likely wont be going back , I just see this as plain discrimination but many people here are touting the line ''Their business , their choice''

    What about you MMO?

  2. #2
    Fluffy Kitten -aiko-'s Avatar
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    I think a bakery should do their damn job.

  3. #3
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    It is a private business and they are free to choose who they serve or what they make, the public is also free to boycott them.

  4. #4
    I'm sure they'll make a baby cake for someone outta wedlock tho. Fucking hypocrites.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    It is a private business and they are free to choose who they serve or what they make, the public is also free to boycott them.
    I don't know, another private business refused to service a gay couple and the ruling could affect this.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25119158

  6. #6
    The Undying Kalis's Avatar
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    I find that discussing anything to do with religion in regards to Northern Ireland is generally a bad idea - they're still fighting a war the rest of the British Isles stopped fighting centuries ago.

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    The Insane Kujako's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    It is a private business and they are free to choose who they serve or what they make, the public is also free to boycott them.
    Well... it's not a "private business" in the sense that it is open to the public. If they required membership, then they would be private. As it is, under UK and US law, they are a public business and do not get to pick and choose their cliental. However, they CAN pick and choose what services they offer said cliental. I agree they can refuse to bake said cake, as it falls outside of the services they choose to offer, so long as they do not refuse to service the people making the request.

    Much like if someone went in and asked for a cake made of tofu, they can simply say that they don't do that and offer to bake them something else.
    It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.

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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    It is a private business and they are free to choose who they serve or what they make, the public is also free to boycott them.
    I would normally agree, but what about a case where a private business is the only option for a given product? What if you only have 1 pharmacy in town, and they refuse to serve certain classes of people?

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    I Don't Work Here Endus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goldfinger View Post
    I just see this as plain discrimination but many people here are touting the line ''Their business , their choice''
    A business does need to have the capacity to decide who they will and won't do business with. Within reason. Saying you won't serve the guy who called your front-line staff "ignorant goddamned fuckheads" is fine, for instance.

    Denying service to people over something like sexual orientation, though, isn't one of those acceptable reasons. It's no different than if they'd refused to sell a cake to a black couple because they won't serve black people.

    There's a clear difference.

  10. #10
    Its a business they have the right to choose who they serve, lol at the mayor wanting to force a business to do something.
    Quote Originally Posted by ChowChillaCharlie View Post
    So many people in this thread just got bitchslapped by reality .

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    I find that discussing anything to do with religion in regards to Northern Ireland is generally a bad idea - they're still fighting a war the rest of the British Isles stopped fighting centuries ago.
    What are you talking about?

    I live here and I can assure you that you must be completely misinformed.
    Northern Ireland has moved on so much since those times.

  12. #12
    The Undying Kalis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rukentuts View Post
    I'm sure they'll make a baby cake for someone outta wedlock tho. Fucking hypocrites.
    To be honest, I wouldn't bank on that.

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    I Don't Work Here Endus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saladbar View Post
    I would normally agree, but what about a case where a private business is the only option for a given product? What if you only have 1 pharmacy in town, and they refuse to serve certain classes of people?
    Or if there's 5 pharmacies, but they all have the same policy.

    It's like people have forgotten history, or something.

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    The Undying Kalis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goldfinger View Post
    What are you talking about?

    I live here and I can assure you that you must be completely misinformed.
    Northern Ireland has moved on so much since those times.
    So the Real IRA and other sectarian groups no longer exist? Glad to know, perhaps you could tell them that.

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    Fluffy Kitten -aiko-'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grush View Post
    Its a business they have the right to choose who they serve, lol at the mayor wanting to force a business to do something.
    It can lead to some bad things though. Like the story linked above, when they refused to accept a same-sex couple into a hotel. That's basically forcing them back into the streets to find a different hotel. If I go take my girlfriend to a hotel late at night and get refused that is unacceptable imo.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saladbar View Post
    I would normally agree, but what about a case where a private business is the only option for a given product? What if you only have 1 pharmacy in town, and they refuse to serve certain classes of people?
    You cannot compare a bakery to something that you may need to survive.

  17. #17
    Someone else made the cake instead? Sounds like a non-issue, then. Why does it always have to become a "thing" every time a private business voluntarily loses a sale?

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    So the Real IRA and other sectarian groups no longer exist? Glad to know, perhaps you could tell them that.
    If you knew anything about Northern Ireland you would probably know that the sectarian groups that still remain here are looked at as a joke.

    No point having a discussion on this with you.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goldfinger View Post
    What are you talking about?

    I live here and I can assure you that you must be completely misinformed.
    Northern Ireland has moved on so much since those times.
    I visit family every holiday back in Belfast and just outside, and i can tell you straight up tensions and fights still break-out due to religious inclinations, part of my holiday is spent watching the separate estates fight each other until the police come out.

    And of course the various bombing attempts definitely don't take place, or the weapon caches that were found a year or so ago.

  20. #20
    The Insane Kujako's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gritches View Post
    Someone else made the cake instead? Sounds like a non-issue, then. Why does it always have to become a "thing" every time a private business voluntarily loses a sale?
    I suggest you go lookup the US civil rights movement and lunch counters.
    It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.

    -Kujako-

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