[Crimson Dynamo]

A case seven years in the making, but after years of deliberations back and
forth, Europe’s top human rights court has tossed the so-called "gay cake"
case in the bin.

In a ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg said
the case which the Northern Irish gay-rights activist, Gareth Lee, brought
against the UK was "inadmissible" because at no point in the domestic
proceedings had he invoked his rights under the European convention on
human rights. It said that he was relying solely on domestic law.

"The supreme court found on the facts of the case that the applicant was not
treated differently on account of his real or perceived sexual orientation, but
rather that the refusal to supply the cake was because of the defendants’
religious objection to gay marriage.

“What was principally at issue, therefore, was not the effect on the
applicant’s private life or his freedom to hold or express his opinions or
beliefs, but rather whether Ashers bakery was required to produce a cake
expressing the applicant’s political support for gay marriage.”

The ruling, which overturns £500 in damages, also said that Lee was "not
treated differently [on] account of his sexual orientation, but due to the
defendants’ religious objection to gay marriage".

The court’s then-president, Lady Hale, said the McArthur family hold the
religious belief that “the only form of marriage consistent with the Bible and
acceptable to God is between a man and a woman”.


https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/07/...en-year-battle