All posts tagged: Ashers Baking Co.

Credit: Ashers Baking Co/Ashersbakingco.com

Supreme court rules in favor of freedom of speech and conscience in England

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The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court issued a ruling of sanity in favor of an Evangelical couple, Daniel and Amy McArthur, who manage a family owned bakery, Ashers Baking Co. in Northern Ireland. In 2014, Northern Ireland was embroiled in a campaign to legalize gay marriage and a gay activist approached the bakery’s Netwonabbey location to have it create a cake supporting the gay marriage campaign. The activist wanted a photo of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie along with the words “Support Gay Marriage” written on the top of the cake. Though an employee in initially took the order, the McArthurs later turned it down stating that they would not be able to make the cake because of their Christian beliefs. The activists took the case to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland that ruled against the company and ordered them to produce the cake within seven days. The owners refused and have been embroiled in a series of court cases ever since, that finally ended up in the Supreme Court. The Christian Institute of England …

Daniel and Amy McArthur Photo: YouTube Capture/The Christian Institute

Gay activist supports Irish Christian bakers

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A strange case emerging in Northern Ireland has a prominent gay activist supporting a bakers decision not to produce a cake promoting gay marriage. The issue involves evangelical Christians Daniel and Amy McArthur who manage a family-owned business: Ashers Baking Co in Newtonabbey, Northern Ireland. In the summer of 2014, they were asked to create a cake for an event supporting the push for the legalization of gay marriage in Northern Ireland. The cake was supposed to have the images of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie on it along with the words “Support Gay Marriage.” The order was initially accepted at the store and later cancelled because the McArthurs did not feel comfortable supporting gay marriage. When they cancelled the order, Gareth Lee, who had requested the cake on behalf of the group Queerspace, took the McArthurs before England’s Equality Commission claiming discrimination. In the court case that followed, lawyers for The Christian Institute representing the McArthurs argued this was not a case of discrimination because the McArthurs did not know Lee was gay. Rather, …

Christian baker persecuted in Northern Ireland for not endorsing gay marriage

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A government is persecuting another baker, this time in Northern Ireland, for their family’s Christian beliefs. This is not unusual. Christian bakers are similarly under fire in North America for their refusal to make wedding cakes for gay weddings. However, this persecution has a bit of an unusual twist. The bakery is being persecuted for not endorsing gay marriage. The Ashers Baking Co, with six different locations in Northern Ireland, is owned by the McArthur family.  They have deeply held Christian beliefs and the name of the baking company comes from Genesis 49:20 which reads: