Daniel McCArthur, general manager of Ashers bakery in Belfast, and his wife Amy have been in legal battle with gay rights activist Gareth Lee since 2014, when he asked them to ice a cake with the slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’. They refused because they said it contradicted with their religious views.
Justice Lady Hale said: “The bakers did not refuse to fulfil his order because of sexual orientation.
“They would have refused to make such a cake for any customer, irrespective of their sexual orientation.
“Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to the personal characteristics of Mr Lee or of anyone else with whom he was associated”.
She also addressed the freedoms the couple based their claims on from European Convention of Human Rights, saying: “The freedom to not express an opinion which one does not hold is also protected by Article 10 of the convention…
“This court has held that ‘nobody should be forced to have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe”.
The judgment has set a precedent that one can refuse to promote a belief they do not hold as long as they are not doing it because of the person who asked them.
Lady Hale continued: “The bakers could not refuse to supply their goods to Mr Lee because he was a gay man or supported at…
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