Posted on 05/20/2015 6:55:31 AM PDT by marshmallow
Neil Addison said that he was surprised by the ruling in the Ashers Bakery case
Equality law in Northern Ireland is being used to destroy individual freedom, a leading Catholic barrister has said.
Following a legal ruling in Northern Ireland, in which a judge ruled that a bakery run by Christians discriminated against a gay customer by refusing to bake a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan, Neil Addison wrote on his personal blog: “The case will undoubtedly be appealed but what does emerge from it is the complete intolerance of the “equality” industry and the way in which equality law is being used to destroy individual freedom including the freedom of a bakery company to decide what products it wants to make.”
He continued: “We in Britain have just been celebrating the 70th anniversary of our victory in WW2 but frankly what are we celebrating, freedom, not if you run a bakery it would seem.”
The Northern Ireland Equality Commission brought the case against Ashers Baking Company, which is based in Co Antrim, on behalf of Gareth Lee, whose cake order was declined.
District judge Isobel Brownlie delivered the guilty verdict at Belfast County Court yesterday.
“The defendants have unlawfully discriminated against the plaintiff on grounds of sexual discrimination,” she said. “This is direct discrimination for which there can be no justification.”
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicherald.co.uk ...
It seems to me that Christian bakeries need to start entering into exclusive contracts with Churches to only sell wedding cakes to them, not the general public. Then the Churches could make selling the cakes to wedding couples directly as part of their wedding services. The bakery could then avoid these laws by saying they don’t sell wedding cakes retail and don’t sell them to anyone who just walks in the store because of their exclusive wholesale contracts with the churches.
These cases always disgust me for multiple reasons, including because they are about thugs compelling others to obey. They have nothing to do with access to services. No sincere person actually wants their pretend wedding to be photographed by someone who finds the proceedings revolting or a celebratory cake to be baked by someone who is disgusted by their celebration. The quality, even with a best effort, would be far worse than from someone who approved, and there is no shortage of pro-gay bakers, pro-gay florists, or pro-gay photographers.
What they want is the power to force others to do their bidding and to crush those who refuse to at least act as if these farces were comparable to a real marriage. The gay activists are thugs and should be treated as thugs. They are not entitled to a sincere explanation for any cancellation/refusal, nor are they entitled to be dealt with openly, not so long as the threat of lawsuits hangs over decent people.
That’s the whole point of it!!!!
Well, close to the point.
It needs to be clarified further, because “religious freedom” isn’t the target,
Christianity is the target.
Sorry, can’t bake the cake.
That would offend Muslims...
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