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Now It's The UK Supreme Court's Turn To Hear A "Gay Wedding Cake" Case

The Christian family-owned bakery refused to make a cake with Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" and the words "Support Gay Marriage."

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A white cake with rainbow layers.
By Jeff Taylor
May 2, 2018 / 2:09 PM

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has agreed to take up an appeal by a Christian family-owned bakery that refused to make a cake with a message in support of marriage equality.

In 2014, Ashers Baking Co., based in Northern Ireland, refused to make a cake decorated with the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie and the words, "Support Gay Marriage," arguing that it went against their religious beliefs.

Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Northern Ireland. (Marriage equlaity came to neighboring nation the Republic of Ireland in 2015.)

Lower courts ruled in favor of the customer, calling the refusal discriminatory.

Ashers general manager Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy (photo below) attended the hearing in Belfast on Tuesday, where their lawyer, David Scoffield, told the Supreme Court called the previous ruling, if allowed to stand, "a case of forced or compelled speech," and characterizing the couple's stance as "a genuine objection in conscience," reports the BBC.

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BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - MAY 01: Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy McArthur of Ashers Bakery speak to the press outside the Supreme Court sitting in Belfast on May 1, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Supreme Court, sitting in Belfast for the first time will hear an appeal by Ashers Bakery in the case known as 'The Gay Cake' case over the next two days. Ashers Bakery is challenging the decision that it was unlawful to refuse to make an iced cake with the slogan "Support Gay Marriage" for Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist. The long running legal case began in May 2014. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

He added that the couple objected to the content of the message they were asked to produce, "not the characteristic of the customer," activist Gareth Lee.

Lee's attorney, Robin Allen, told the court his client was not aware of the couple's religious beliefs, and did not place the order with any "abusive intent." The cake was meant for an event to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, observed on May 17 every year.

Lee's order wasn't the only order the couple has refused due to their religious beliefs.

Last year, the McArthurs refused to make a cake celebrating a gay couple's engagement. That couple chose not to sue.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 26: A customer of Asher's Bakery walks past one of their shops on March 26, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ashers, a Christian-run bakery triggered a discrimination row when it refused to bake a cake for the gay rights group Queerspace who had ordered the cake for an anti-homophobic event in May, 2014. The court action was brought by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, after the Newtownabbey-based business turned down an order for the cake bearing the slogan 'Support gay marriage'. The body claims Ashers' decision infringes on equality laws, and raises questions over when and how businesses can refuse service due to sexual orientation, religious belief or political opinion. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images).

The court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of the year, or in early 2019.

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments in a similar case, where Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips contends being made to provide wedding cakes for a same-sex couple runs counter to his faith and would violate his First Amendment right to free speech. A ruling in that case is expected sometime this summer.

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