Gay Marriage / Gay Rights

[HairOfTheDog]

Gay Equality in Ireland

Yesterday the people of Ireland voted in favor of marriage equality and legalized same-sex marriage across the country.



Also, last week, an Irish civil court judge found Ashers Bakery guilty of discrimination for refusing to supply a cake advocating the legalization of gay marriage. The bakery owners told the court that they were against gay marriage on religious grounds but the judge ruled in favor of the gay male activist. The bakery owners said they'll pay the settlement (about $750 USD) and simply stop supplying anything other than birthday and special event cakes.

The bakery owners argued that they should be able to respect their religious beliefs in the course of doing business; they had a lot of public support. But, in her ruling, Belfast Judge Isobel Brownlie called the bakery's cancellation of the order "direct discrimination for which there can be no justifica,ion." The judge said the bakery was a business, not a religious organization, and therefore had no legal basis to reject an order based on a customer's sexual orientation or beliefs.