Courtney McGrailDear Editor, I was relieved to read about the intervention by the North’s Attorney General, John Larkin in the Ashers’ Bakery appeal case in Belfast (‘Appeal court is urged to overturn gay cake case’ IC 12/05/2016). Finally somebody is speaking sense!
Mr Larkin said that if the Christian bakers were guilty of discrimination for refusing to make a pro-same-sex marriage cake, the law itself is at fault because it would be compelling them to express a view contrary to their beliefs.
This was evident from day one to anyone who didn’t have their eyes blinkered by anti-religious views. The bakers never refused to serve Gareth Lee because he was gay, in fact I believe they had done work for him in the past. A political slogan that he wanted on the cake went against their conscience so of course they should have the right to refuse to do it. If an atheist baker had refused to bake a cake about promoting God as Creator or a Muslim baker refused to bake a cake with an image of Mohammed, would the North’s Equality Commission have taken a case against them?
It seems that intolerance has now turned 360 degrees. Those who previously experienced intolerance are now waging it against those they disagree with. It reminds me of the reaction to Senator Rónán Mullen’s re-election when liberals were aghast that the NUI panel could elect such a conservative. But these are educated people they gasped! It is possible to disagree with someone on certain contentious issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion without being diametrically opposed on every single other issue. We can agree to disagree and get along with each other. Or at least we could, if people could refrain from getting up on their high horses and deciding to be offended or feeling oppressed because someone disagrees with them.
Yours etc.,
Susan O’Flaherty,
Galway City.