The Christian owners of Ashers Bakery were found to have discriminated by refusing to make a product iced with the slogan Support Gay Marriage.
The order was placed by gay rights activist Gareth Lee in May 2014 and was the subject of a Supreme Court appeal in Belfast this week.
His barrister Robin Allen QC said: “This is what was a relatively small incident in his life which has become enormously significant and continues to be so.
“That is a heavy burden to bear for one individual.”
The Ashers legal action has run for four years and attracted enormous attention.
The original case against the McArthur family, who own Ashers and enjoy the backing of the Christian Institute lobby group, was taken by Mr Lee with the support of Northern Ireland’s
Equality Commission.
The bakers lost in the lower courts.
Mr Allen said the Commission was seeking “legal certainty” and stepped in because only a millionaire could afford to litigate this case.
“In the context of this case it is super-difficult because in relation to the provision of goods, facilities and services you are talking about a prohibition on discrimination on transactions which may range from a box of matches up to a long-term contract.
“In many cases, particularly true in a divided community, prohibition in relation to goods and services is a task which is difficult to police through a commission or…
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