Gareth Lee is hugged by a supporter outside a court in Northern Ireland in 2015. Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
A man has lost a 7-year legal battle against a bakery in Northern Ireland which refused to make a cake with a “Support Gay Marriage” message on it.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that Gareth Lee’s claim was inadmissible.In 2014, Lee ordered a cake from Ashers Bakery in Belfast – run by evangelical Christians – with the message “Support Gay Marriage” and a logo for the LGBTQ charity QueerSpace. After the bakery’s owners Daniel and Amy McArthur refused to make the cake on the basis that the slogan conflicted with their religious beliefs, Lee sued the bakery for discrimination. A county court upheld Lee’s case, as did an appeals court. However, in 2018 the UK Supreme Court overturned the decisions and found in favour of the bakery.Lee subsequently took his case to the ECHR in Strasbourg, arguing that the decision breached his human rights. On Thursday, the ECHR said that via a majority decision it had found his claim to be inadmissible on the basis that Lee had not invoked a breach of his human rights up until this point.“The applicant had not invoked his Convention rights at any point in the domestic proceedings,” the ECHR ruling read. “By relying solely on domestic law, the applicant had deprived the domestic courts of the opportunity to address any Convention issues raised, instead asking the Court to usurp the role of the domestic courts.”Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall told VICE World News: “Today’s decision by the European Court of Human Rights is a backwards step for equality. Human rights belong to people, not businesses. No business should discriminate against their customers, and no discriminatory behaviour should be held up by equality law.”“Today’s decision leaves the door open for legal uncertainty across the UK and causes continued unease for our communities,” said Kelley. “Our thoughts are with Gareth Lee, who deserved more support from the European Courts after seven years of working towards equality.”
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