Saturday, November 8, 2014

Bakery Ordered to Make Gay Bert and Ernie Wedding Cake or Face Court Case



Bakery Ordered to Make Gay Bert and Ernie Wedding Cake or Face Court Case
by Warner Todd Huston 6 Nov 2014
A Christian-owned baking company in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland was told by authorities to make a gay-themed Sesame Street wedding cake and apologize or face a court order and possible jail time for refusing to make the cake, reports say.

Ashers Baking Co. reportedly refused to make a cake featuring Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie arm-in-arm above a banner that was to say "support gay marriage." Authorities said that the refusal to make the cake is "unlawful religious, political and sexual orientation discrimination" against the gay customers.

The baking company reused to make the cake in May of this year because it would be against the company owners' religious beliefs.

"Daniel McArthur, general manager of the firm, said it would amount to endorsing the campaign for the introduction of same-sex marriage, and go against his conscience," the UK Telegraph reported on November 5.

Not long afterward the customer, Gareth Lee, complained to Britain's Equality Commission. The commission then sent a letter to the bakery threatening legal action unless the company made the cake, apologized to the customer, and paid "immediate compensation."

The commission also sent a 16-page letter to the central government saying that it had determined that the bakery had violated equality laws and must compensate the customer for having upset him.

"This letter... is to be understood as a letter of claim which, in the absence of both an immediate acknowledgement that there has been an unlawful breach of the equality laws set out above and an unconditional offer of adequate recompense to Mr. Lee, will be followed by litigation," the letter states.

But Simon Calvert, deputy director of the Christian Institute, says that the commission's stance is illogical. "If supporting same-sex marriage is a protected political opinion, so is supporting traditional marriage. Yet the Commission clearly favors one view over another and is prepared to litigate to prove it," he said.

The McArthur family, though, say they are being unfairly attacked for their religious beliefs. "We feel that the Equality Commission are pursuing us because of our beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman."

The McArthurs also said that they intend to hold to their deeply held religious principles. They will not make the cake, nor will they apologize to the jilted customer.

Several bakeries in the US have already faced similar attacks. In one case, bakery owner Jack Phillips was told to serve gay clients in Colorado despite that doing would violate his religious beliefs.

Sesame Street
Sesame Street is a program for the Sesame Workshop.

Note: Vincent A. Mai is a trustee at the Sesame Workshop, and an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.  
Clifford S. Asness is a director at the International Rescue Committee, and supported same-sex marriage in New York.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Samantha Power was a director at the International Rescue Committee, a board member for the International Crisis Group, Barack Obama’s aide, and is the United Nations U.S. ambassador.
Kofi A. Annan was the secretary general for the United Nations, is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Morton I. Abramowitz was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a board member for the International Crisis Group.
George J. Mitchell was the chair emeritus for the International Crisis Group, and a U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is a member of the United Kingdom.
Mark Malloch-Brown was the minister of state for the United Kingdom, a political correspondent for The Economist, and is a co-chair for the International Crisis Group.
Andrew S.B. Knight was an editor for The Economist, and the CEO for the Daily Telegraph.
David Miliband was the foreign secretary; secretary of state for the environment; minister for schools for the United Kingdom, a member of the House of Commons, the president-elect for the International Rescue Committee, and is the president & CEO for the International Rescue Committee.
House of Commons
The UK public elects 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws, and can scrutinise government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in Committees.
Winston Churchill II was a member of the House of Commons, and a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
Vincent A. Mai is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a trustee at the Sesame Workshop.    
Sesame Street is a program for the Sesame Workshop.
Clifford S. Asness is a director at the International Rescue Committee, and supported same-sex marriage in New York.





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