Christian bakers who refused to make a "gay cake" lost their appeal bid Monday with the court upholding the ruling that the bakers discriminated against a man who wanted to order a cake.
The new ruling said Ashers Baking Company "had directly discriminated against Gareth Lee on grounds of sexual orientation by refusing to make a cake supporting same-sex marriage," CNN reported.
Lee had gone to the bakery to have a cake made that would feature "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie with a message in favor of same-sex marriage.
The owners said the message of the gay cake conflicted with their Christian beliefs.
Ashers appealed the 2015 ruling but a Northern Ireland court rejected the appeal, saying that making that specific cake would not have gone against their beliefs, considering that baking something for a particular group doesn’t mean you support it.
“The fact that a baker provides a cake for a particular team or portrays witches on a Halloween cake does not indicate any support for either,” the court said, according to CNN.
Daniel McArthur, Ashers' managing director, voiced his “extreme disappointment” in the decision as he addressed the media Monday after the ruling, The Daily Mail reported.
“If equality law means people can be punished for politely refusing to support other people’s causes, then equality law needs to change,” he said. “This ruling undermines democratic freedom. It undermines religious freedom. It undermines free speech.”
At the original ruling in 2015, Belfast District Judge Brownlie stated the company had discriminated against Lee “on the grounds of sexual orientation and religious beliefs,” according to Time.
“The ruling suggests that all business owners will have to be willing to promote any cause or campaign, no matter how much they disagree with it,” McArthur said at the time of the initial ruling.
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