James McMordieToday the Supreme Court in London ruled that there was no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the long-running Ashers Bakery ‘gay cake’ case. The Court ruled that Ashers was not obliged to decorate a cake with the message “Support Gay Marriage” – overturning the earlier decisions of both the Belfast High Court and a court of appeal. Specifically, the court found that the decision to reject Gareth Lee’s order had not been made on the basis of his sexuality and that Ashers’ right “not to express an opinion which one does not hold” is guaranteed within Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Ultimately, the delight that Ashers, the Christian Institute, the DUP and many others will be feeling today stems from a tension that has long been building in churches across Northern Ireland. As equality laws have been expanded, and the debate rages over abortion and equal marriage, Christians increasingly argue that they are now the ones being discriminated against. Indeed, I myself have heard ministers claim, time and time again, that Christians are now the most persecuted minority in the UK.
In Ashers then, the faithful found a champion and today the Supreme Court found in their favour. Whilst the judgement does argue that discrimination is “an affront to human dignity”, the justices must have known the very real political consequences that would flow from this decision. Already some DUP politicians have returned to their familiar trope about a Conscience Clause – a bill that would enshrine the right to discriminate on the basis of conscience. Meanwhile some within the UUP – a party that has long claimed to be more progressive on social issues – have criticised the Equality Commission (ECNI) for taking up the case in the first place.
These developments point to the very real dangers of today’s ruling. Whilst the Ashers case may have had its merits, this outcome will only embolden those whose ultimate desire is to see equality legislation done away with altogether. Equality laws will continue to be challenged and tested in the coming months whilst the ECNI – one of the few bodies to which minority communities can turn in confidence – may be reluctant to take on any more cases of this magnitude. A Conscience Clause, unlikely due to the current paralysis at Stormont, has the potential to do even more damage, creating a multitude of circumstances where minorities could find themselves disadvantaged due to the conscience of a retailer, hotelier or employer.
The irony is that it really needn’t be this way. There are many – myself included – who consider themselves to be part of both the LGBT community and the faith community. There are also men and women of faith who have long been allies of the LGBT community – including the Chief Commissioner of the ECNI, Michael Wardlow. These two communities may never see the world in the same way, but there is a lot of work to be done to sooth the hurt and division that this case and the debate around marriage equality have caused. Such healing starts with an acceptance that rights are not a zero sum game where one group’s gain is another’s loss – both groups, both so nervous of losing freedoms, should stand together to see rights advanced for everyone.
In that regard, those who are rejoicing today should take time to reflect on just how little the nuances of this case matter to most observers. For many, regardless of the philosophical and legal underpinnings of this ruling, Ashers has become a litmus test of an individual’s stance on equality. Faith groups, their numbers in steep decline, won’t have won over a single soul through this process, whilst the Unionist parties have once again moved in lockstep with a hardcore base whose numbers are depleting. If either group cares to expand they’ll find inclusivity is key.
In all of this I am reminded of the virtues extolled at the front of my parents’ church in Saintfield – Temperance and Charity. I have always understood these to represent a slowness to anger and a willingness not just to give charitably but to be charitable in how one treats others. Today’s outcome won’t have pleased everyone – not by a long shot – but if all of us, whether religious or not, chose to live by these values, we’d probably never have heard the term ‘gay cake’.
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